The Health Minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed that the new Children’s Hospital will not be fully operational until 2020 at the earliest.
It was originally thought that the new multi-million hospital would be open to the public in spring 2019. Mr Varadkar believes that it will not be fully operational until 2020.
Mr Vardakar told reporters: “There won’t be a ‘big bang’ opening,” said. “The three existing hospitals would have to be decanted into it. “Construction will be finished in 2019, and it will open in 2019 in part – and fully 2020.” The Minister’s office maintains that a 2020 fully operational date has been the plan for some time, and today’s comments are nothing new.
The news comes as the previous Health Minister James Reilly had promised that the hospital would be ready by 2018.