The new National Maternity Hospital could ultimately cost close to €2 billion to develop, senior health service figures believe.
If the estimate is borne out, it would mean the bill for the maternity facility, to be constructed on the St Vincent’s hospital campus at Elm Park, Dublin, would be more than 10 times the amount originally allocated when the project was announced more than a decade ago.
Tenders for the building of the hospital are being examined by an evaluation group in the HSE and are expected to be given to a project board shortly.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll McNeill will then have to bring a final business case to Cabinet later this year if the project is to receive final approval.
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Senior health service figures maintain construction costs for the hospital are likely to be about €1.5 billion, or higher, and that other bills associated with developing and commissioning the facility could push the final price to some €2 billion.
“The tenders are higher than expected,” a senior individual with direct involvement in the project said.
It is understood there are contingency elements included in some tenders to minimise the likelihood of a repeat of the experience with the national children’s hospital. That project, which will also cost in excess of €2 billion, has experienced significant overruns and is running way behind schedule.
Some sources maintained that the development of the facility on an existing hospital campus rather than a greenfield site increased costs. A rise in construction inflation, allied with uncertainty over trading conditions because of the potential impact of US tariffs, are also said to have contributed.
The Irish Times also understands that the HSE will face monetary charges if any undue delay on its part in making decisions leads to additional costs or delays.
In May 2013, the then minister for health, James Reilly, announced the government had agreed to commission a new facility to replace the National Maternity Hospital’s ageing premises at Holles Street.
Dr Reilly said an “indicative sum” of €150 million had been approved for the project. At the time it was forecast that construction would commence in late 2016 and be completed in 2018.
The project was beset by a row over governance, ethos and whether there could be restrictions on the types of services provided to women being treated there.
Campaigners, including some prominent medical figures, argued it would have a Catholic ethos because of the legacy of religious control of St Vincent’s, which was founded by an order of Catholic nuns.
They contended that this could prevent certain treatments – legal in Ireland but not permitted under church rules – from being made available. But the government, other staff at Holles Street and authorities at St Vincent’s rejected these suggestions. Ultimately a 299-year lease was secured on the site to ensure its operational and clinical independence.
Over the years cost estimates for the project increased significantly. In February 2017, the HSE projected it would cost €296 million. In June 2021, the Department of Health said cost estimates had risen further to about €800 million, including €300 million for commissioning and transferring services from Holles Street.
