A planning application is to be submitted today to An Bord Pleanála for a brand new, state of the art paediatric hospital on the campus of St. James Hospital, Dublin.
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar spoke today about his confidence that the application will go through for “the world class facility”, saying that building the facility would be an “important milestone” for Ireland’s healthcare system.
The new hospital will be built on a 12 acre site at St. James Hospital in Dublin and will merge the States three children’s hospitals; Our Lady’s Hospital Crumlin, Children’s University Hospital Temple Street and the National Children’s Hospital together. Building the new facility is expected to cost €650 million and if building begins next year, as planned it will open in 2020.
Plans for the new hospital also include two new paediatric outpatient departments and urgent care satellite centres at Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals.
Originally the new hospital was to be built on the Mater campus, however planning permission for the structure was refused by An Bord Pleanála in early 2012. The Government then decided in November 2012 to relocate plans for the facility to the St. James campus instead, which is three times larger than the Mater site.
Varadkar has described the facility as being “the largest single investment in healthcare in Ireland ever” and hopes that “subject to planning permission work will be underway in the new year”.
Eilish Hardiman, Chief Executive of the Children’s Hospital Group has described the plans as being “another step on the road to bringing services in the three children’s hospitals together under one roof for the first time”.
The application is to be submitted today at 4pm.