The new National Paediatric Hospital is the biggest capital project in healthcare undertaken in Ireland, but after years of debate, location changes and controversies, no one can say when it will actually open and how much it will cost.
Recently, the completion date of March 2024 was moved to May 2024 and then to a further date.
It looks more likely that the building will be finished towards the end of next year.
At that point, the commissioning phase will begin so, realistically, it is unlikely to open until sometime in 2025, probably late 2025.
The Government has expressed frustration with the ongoing delays and the battles with the contractor.
At this point, the contractor has filed over 2,000 claims totalling €760 million due to design changes.
It was pointed out today by Dr Paul Davis, Lecturer in Public Procurement at Dublin City University, there was no design in place when the contract was awarded to BAM.
He added that Ireland went out into the marketplace without a final design and without a final budget.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that the development board has made it clear to the contractor that it will not be getting anything like the €760m sought in claims.
So far, around €12m has been paid in claims.
Minister Donnelly also blamed some of the delays on the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The hospital is 90% complete and he said that the time spent fighting each claim does not have to knock back the completion date.
Many of these matters will likely be still to be determined long after the building is complete.
It is clear that the final bill for this hospital will well exceed €2 billion.
Even when it opens, the final cost at that point may not be fully known, if disputes over outstanding claims remain to be resolved.
