TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS has said that the State will “robustly push back” against any additional cost demands from the developer of the National Children’s Hospital.

The relationship between the construction firm BAM, the board overseeing the hospital construction and the state has soured over the years over the delayed project. 

The board overseeing the hospital’s development accused BAM last year of having a “complete disregard for sick children”.

There are reports that BAM is seeking an additional €100m in costs but Harris this morning told reporters: “The developer can look for whatever the developer wants, but the State is going to continue to robustly push back.”

He added that people need to be “careful when quoting figures that the developer is looking for in additional claims”.

Harris remarked that “so many claims that have been lodged by the developer have not been paid out, have been found not to be valid”.

“I saw recent figures that show only a tiny fraction of claims lodged by the developer have actually been found to have validity and the state will continue to push that back,” said Harris.

The Tánaiste further remarked that he wants the “taxpayers of this country to know that the State has successfully pushed back many claims to date and will continue to adopt that approach”.

Harris added that the “plan is still to have this hospital handed over to the State having completed its work in June of this year” and that the hospital is “in the final stages of its completion in terms of its construction”.

However, he said there will then be a “commissioning period of time that needs to happen as efficiently as possible”.

“There has to be the clinical kit out of the hospital, and that’s a vital part of the commissioning work that needs to take place,” said Harris.

“But we’re now within touching distance of this National Children’s Hospital finally being available for the children of this country,” he added.

The Journal yesterday reported that this “commissioning period” could take at least six months, which would result in the hospital not being fully open until 2026.

A briefing note from the Department of Health to the new Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill states that moving patients from the numerous children’s hospitals cannot be undertaken in winter due to “clinical risks”. 

“In order to minimise clinical risk to sick children, migration must be carried out when emergency activity is at its quietest and elective activity must be reduced so that there is the minimal number of patients to be transferred and the maximum number of staff available to achieve this safely,” the department added.  

In addition to moving patients, this commissioning will also include moving in machinery, getting labs operational and carrying out workforce training for three hospital teams of up to 4,000 staff, who will all be working under a new digital health system.

It is understood that the timeframe between July and October is most likely too tight to get the commissioning work completed, however the timeline will be scrutinised in the coming weeks to see if acceleration can be achieved. 

It is understood that spring 2026 is now seen as the optimum time for the large-scale logistical plan. 

“With over 4,600 clinical spaces, this will be a complex phase, which will take at least six months,” the department said.

-With additional reporting from Christina Finn