BAM IRELAND, THE main contractor building the new National Children’s Hospital (NCH), has said it has completed 4,674 rooms (82% of the total rooms), with a further 690 rooms fully completed and awaiting design team sign-off.

The figures, confirmed to The Journal, are an increase on the figures from last month, which showed that 4,334 rooms or 76% of rooms had reached the contract standard. 

Citing those figures in a recent parliamentary question at the end of July, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said 76% room completion rate was “not to the pace or standard we should expect”.

Since 28 July, BAM has increased the number of completed and signed off rooms by 340 — an average of around 108 rooms per week.

If the work continues at this rate, rooms at the hospital should be completed and signed off on in around nine to 10 weeks, however, no new timeline for the completion of the hospital has been confirmed.

In a statement to The Journal, BAM Ireland highlighted the updated figures, which it stated change daily.

“The National Children’s Hospital is the largest healthcare investment in the State’s history and is in the final stages of commissioning and certification.

“BAM has fully completed and signed off 4,674 rooms, with a further 690 rooms fully completed and awaiting design team sign-off,” said the statement. 

It went on to state that the company is working closely with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and Children’s Health Ireland to deliver the hospital as “quickly and safely as possible for the children of Ireland”.

Criticism of the contractors 

Commenting on the July figures, the health minister has said the contractor has continually missed its room completion targets, stating it is obvious that BAM needs to increase resources to turn that slippage around. 

Apart from the room completion rate, the health minister also criticised the contractors over the ventilation system, which she said is a critical part of any hospital.

The minister said the system was contributing to noise issues in clinical areas and was not accepted as being up to the contractual standards. BAM and its subcontractors are working to resolve these acoustic issues now, she said. 

Another issue highlighted as a problem is the presence of dust in the ventilation system in the operating rooms.

Approximately 40% of the ventilation system contained dust above the limits set out in the works requirements.

“This arose from BAM’s failure to properly protect the ventilation system during the reworking in rooms, which was required because of its failure to complete rooms to the contractual standard at first presentation to the design team. Further cleaning by BAM and its subcontractors is underway and progressing on schedule,” said the health minister. 

“These issues are resolvable but are problems of BAM’s own making and within its control to satisfactorily rectify as quickly as possible,” she added. 

The bathroom pods, which are prefabricated bathroom units installed in the hospital, have also provoked criticism. 

According to the minister, BAM is responsible for providing the necessary certification and documentation for all procured elements within the hospital, including the 244 bathroom units it procured and installed in the hospital. 

A potential compliance issue has arisen regarding pod certification, with the minister stating that despite repeated requests from the NPHDB design team since November 2025, BAM has not provided the required certification.

“In the absence of such documentation, BAM is required to undertake testing to demonstrate compliance and is now carrying out this testing,” said the minister.

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Responsibility for resolving this matter rests with BAM, either by demonstrating compliance or implementing a credible alternative solution to achieving that compliance, she added. 

In a statement to The Journal, BAM Ireland said that during the final phase of a project of this scale and complexity, it is routine for contractors to work closely with the design team to address technical queries when they arise, including by providing additional documentation, evidence or testing to support the certification process where required.

“The specification, selection and approval of products and systems, including the bathroom pods, involves multiple parties throughout the project, including the NPHDB and their Design Team, and forms part of the overall design, review and certification process,” it added. 

Opening hospital a government priority, says minister

Carroll MacNeill said the opening of the NCH is a government priority; however, the August deadline for completion of the hospital will be missed, with speculation that the building may not be ready until October at the earliest.

In a bid to get the doors of the hospital open, Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) has reduced its commissioning time — the time needed to install thousands of pieces of equipment — from nine months to seven.

It will take some months before the facility is in use by children and their families. 

CHI has previously raised concerns around a winter move, saying the flu season and vaccination levels need to be taken into account.

“I have been clear that the responsibility for committing to, resourcing, and delivering this project sits squarely with the project’s main contractor, BAM Ireland. The State will not reduce the pressure or dilute that accountability,” said the health minister.