Contentious plans for a National Children’s Hospital have been thrown into further disarray with the second resignation of a project chairman.
John Gallagher, who is chair of the National Paediatric Development Board,
resigned today, saying he feels he no longer has the mandate to continue with his remit to build the facility at the Mater site.
In his resignation letter, he said the Government and Minister for Health James Reilly were not in a position as yet to grant such a mandate to him.
His decision to step down comes less than a week after Mr Gallagher met Dr Reilly to discuss the issue of where to locate the new hospital.
Earlier this month the new Minister for Health announced his intention to conduct his own review into the location of the hospital.
In a statement this afternoon, Dr Reilly said he regretted Mr Gallagher's decision to stand down as chair and thanked him for his contribution.
The controversial decision to locate the hospital at the Mater site was made by the last government. However, Mr Gallagher recently wrote to Dr Reilly reiterating his view that the Mater campus is a suitable site for the hospital.
Mr Gallagher’s predecessor as chairman of the paediatric hospital development board, Philip Lynch, resigned last October after he questioned the suitability of the site and whether it might be built cheaper elsewhere.
In his statement, Dr Reilly again said that no decision has been made yet regarding the location for the project.
"The Programme for Government contains a commitment to building the National Children’s Hospital, and I want to make sure that this happens in the most cost-effective way that is to the maximum benefit of patients," said Dr Reilly.
"I intend to continue my consideration of all the facts before I decide what steps to take next. I am determined to have all the facts before I decide on the best approach. I will announce these next steps shortly," he added.
In a statement released tonight the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board said while it “deeply regrets” Mr Gallagher’s decisions to resign it remains committed to the delivery of a hospital on the Mater campus
It said the project is one track to be completed by 2015 and hopes “today’s development will not cause delay”.
The board thanked Mr Gallagher for the “energy and focus that he brought to the project”.
The State is providing €450 million towards the cost of the new hospital but the remainder has to be sourced from philanthropic, commercial, research and education bodies.
The decision to locate the new children’s hospital beside the Mater Hospital on Eccles Street has caused intense debate.
Concerns were also raised about traffic congestion, poor accessibility and space constraints on the 6.15-hectare site and difficulties with an underground car park and lack of nearby public transport hubs like the train, bus and Luas.
