4060. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the new target completion date for the National Children's Hospital; the number of rooms now completed; the number of outstanding defects; if issues related to dust in ventilation ducts and fire safety issues with toilet pods have now been addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59002/26]

Opening the National Children’s Hospital Ireland (NCHI) is a Government priority. Everything possible is being done to ensure this world-class hospital will open as quickly as possible, on behalf of children, young people, and their families.

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.

Ultimately, realising substantial completion is dependent on BAM’s execution and delivery of its own programme.

The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has advised that BAM’s progress on site has continued to fall behind its own programme timeline across several areas, including room completion, aspects of commissioning, and the submission of documentation required for the certification of substantial completion.  Following review of a programme received from BAM on 6 May, the Employer’s Representative (ER - the independent third party responsible for administering the contract) wrote to BAM on 30 June seeking an updated programme, as BAM’s progress had failed to track against its own submitted programme.

On 13 July, BAM issued an updated programme to the ER. The ER is reviewing the programme to assess if it is compliant with the contract and represents a meaningful and realistic pathway to completing the building.

The review remains ongoing; it would be inappropriate to comment on the content of the programme submitted until it has been fully assessed and verified. This review process takes a number of weeks.

The main cause of delay on the project has been BAM’s continued failure to adequately manage and resource the project, and maintain effective quality assurance processes in the delivery of the works.

Achieving Substantial Completion is essentially a ‘volume exercise,’ to complete over 5,728 rooms. To date, 4,334 rooms have reached the contract standard (c.76%). While progress is being made, it is not to the pace or standard we should expect. BAM continually misses its room completion targets making it obvious that it needs to increase resources to turn that slippage around.

BAM failed to correctly install and commission the ventilation system, which is a critical piece of any hospital. This was contributing to noise issues in clinical areas in excess of accepted standards. The NPHDB, on behalf of the State, will not accept work that does not meet the contractual standards. BAM and its subcontractors are working to resolve these acoustic issues.

Approximately 40% of the ventilation system also 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 sub-contractors is underway and progressing on schedule.

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

It is essential that the hospital is delivered in compliance with the contract and all applicable building regulations. BAM is responsible for providing the necessary certification and documentation for all procured elements, including the 244 prefabricated bathroom pods it procured and installed in the NCHI.

A potential compliance issue has arisen regarding pod certification. 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.

Responsibility for resolving this matter rests with BAM, either by demonstrating compliance or implementing a credible alternative solution to achieving that compliance. The NPHDB and its advisers remain available to engage constructively and support the timely resolution of the issue by BAM.

Since December 2025, BAM has granted Children’s Health Ireland and the NPHDB partial early access to Level 6, followed by access to the Lower Ground, Ground Floor and Level 1 of the Hot Block. This early access is enabling CHI bring in some clinical equipment and de-risk its onsite operational commissioning phase, which will begin following substantial completion.

Both NPHDB and CHI have optimised the use of their early access to do as much as they can. What is needed now from BAM is certainty, adequate resourcing, and real productivity to complete the job to allow the State agencies to do theirs and to get the hospital open.