Sinn Féin Health spokesperson Deputy Louise O’Reilly said that the newly emerging costs are the result of light touch oversight by the government and Minister for Health.

Speaking this afternoon, The Fingal TD said:

“The fiasco around the construction of the National Children’s Hospital is of Fine Gael’s own making.

“The explosion in additional costs and delays is the result of the two-phase plan they signed off on.

“The risk that this would happen existed from the moment Fine Gael decided with this plan, and it was compounded by their light touch oversight and failure to keep an eye on what was happening.

“The Minister for Health, one of the main people responsible for oversight of the project only met with the board twice in all the time this fiasco has been going on.

“Indeed, the new chair appointed to oversee the project admitted to the Public Accounts Committee admitted to having never built a standalone hospital before.

“Now the project is facing millions in additional costs, it is bogged down in delays which will result in even more additional costs, and it needs €15m to defend itself in court against additional costs.

“Sinn Féin said when this scandal first arose that the failure of Minister Harris and Fine Gael to control the costs would easily see the project surpass €2 billion, and this is where the whole fiasco seems to be heading.”