Róisín Shortall: BAM move an opportunity to re-examine children's hospital costings for other sites
Social Democrats' co-leader Róisín Shortall says BAM's offer to pull back from its contract to build the National Children's Hospital, if asked to do so, is an opportunity for the Government to look again at their plans and costings.
Yesterday, the Health Minister Simon Harris indicated that the project would not be re-tendered, his spokesperson saying that to do so would only delay it further.
Deputy Shorthall said it is time to take stock and consider moving to a different site which could guarantee co-location of the children's hospital with a maternity hospital, as originally promised
Ms Shortall said: "From a clinical point of view, co-location with a maternity hospital is absolutely essential and I think we now have an opportunity to examine the possibility of doing that on a different site.
"I'd call in the Minister to present the costings for that and the other alternatives because, while we are told the Government made a decision on this, we don't know what the relative costings are.
"So, let's hear those and let's look at all possibilities."
