The Minister for Health Simon Harris has released a memo this evening that reveals that he was informed about the possible cost overruns at the new National Children’s Hospital.
According to RTÉ News, the memo which was published on August 27th last year informed the Health Minister that the cost for the construction of the hospital was €191m over budget.
It also stated that additional costs of €200m was submitted by the main construction company involved in the build, bringing the overall total to €391m.
However the initial figure of €200m of additional costs was reduced after the main hospital board wrote to the main contractor stating that the figure was unacceptable.
However despite knowing about the memo, Minister Harris has claimed that he was only made aware of the overspend figure of €450m last November.
The latest developments has led to opposition TD’s to question Mr Harris’s handling of the situation, with many highlighting the fact that the memo wasn’t brought to the attentions of the Dail before last October’s budget.