Will the Taoiseach inform us what the final cost of the new national children's hospital will be? Just over €1.4 billion was the amount agreed at Cabinet but it emerged today at a joint committee that, of 900 claims in total, only a handful have been settled. It now seems inevitable that costs will overrun substantially. The committee was unable to get clarity on this point from the Department or the board. Can the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, tell us what we are looking at in terms of a project that will, it seems, deliver the most expensive hospital ever built anywhere internationally? Will he enlighten us on the date of completion? Will it be completed by December 2023 and open in the first half of 2024?

This project has been ongoing for a number of years, from conception to the present state. It has been unsatisfactory in terms of the relationship between the contractor and development board. I am not in a position to give clarity around figures. The less bandying about of figures, the better, in relation to contracts and projects of this kind. That applies to everybody, including those in government. There are hundreds of claims, as the Deputy says, and they have to be contested. I will not make a judgment as to how the claims will work out or give a top-of-the-head figure as to the cost.

This is a difficult relationship now, unfortunately, where there is claim and counterclaim, and that is problematic and not satisfactory at all from my perspective and, indeed, from the Government's perspective.

The Taoiseach's time is up.

That also impacts on the deadline and timelines.