The paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre at Tallaght University Hospital is contractually scheduled to be completed in February 2021
This morning/afternoon.
Members of National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) appeared before the joint Oireachtas Health Committee….
In an opening statement David Gunning, chief officer of board, says since the project started the contractors, BAM, have made “hundreds of millions of euros” in extra claims.
This is consuming a significant amount of executive and project-team time
Mr Gunning states: “In December 2018, the Government approved an investment decision of €1.433bn for the project.
He said there are “a number of exceptions” that have always been outside of this investment, and for which there cannot be price certainty at this point, or for the duration of the project.
“These include, for example, national construction inflation in excess of 4pc, any changes in scope resulting from healthcare policy change, statutory changes and the Employment Order.
“The last time the NPHDB was before the Oireachtas Committee on Health, in November 2019, we advised the committee that the main contractor was behind schedule on the construction works.
“At that time, the delay was four months, and it was our view that the main contractor could have made up the time. However, by the time the main contractor closed the site in March as a result of the Covd-19 restrictions, the delay had increased to six months….”
National Children’s hospital delayed again as August 2022 deadline will not be met (Independent.ie)
Meanwhile…
Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, said:
“It was disappointing to hear in the board’s opening statement that there have been hundreds of claims for hundreds of millions of euro in relation to this development.
What was particularly frustrating, however, was the inability of NHPDB to give us a working assumption of both the estimated completion date and estimated total cost of the hospital project.
“Given the evidence we have heard here today, it is not credible for the board to talk about working towards the original completion date. More than nine months of progress has been lost this year alone and who knows what else is going to hold this project up.
“It is concerning that NHPDB cannot provide details of expected cost overruns or a breakdown of the legal fees contained in the €1.433 billion estimate for the project.
Ms Shortall added:
“The board said today it will not be in a position to provide an update on the costs and timeline of the National Children’s Hospital project until the first quarter of 2021. We need to bring NHPDB before the Health Committee again in January to answer pre-set questions that the public and taxpayer are entitled to.
“It is highly unsatisfactory that that board was not able to answer our questions today and it is not an acceptable way for a public body to operate.”
Suckers!
The question is how did these guys(BAM) get the contract?
I actually worked for them way back, 2005, I think, new outfit then.
Had some interesting architectural projects, but seemed to me, at the time, to be cowboys winging it on a construction boom.
They did, however, despite my misgivings, get the job done.
And always paid on time.
they priced what was in front of them.
the design wasn’t complete at that stage, there has been a load of additional scope instructed and for that they are entitled to claim.
similarly, they are entitled to claim for delays, be it delayed access, delay due to lack of information or any other delay that was reasonably unforeseeable at time of tender
not all risk is transferred to the construction contractor. if that were to be the case, tender prices would be much higher in the first instance.
Charge ’em for the lice, extra for the mice
Two percent for looking in the mirror twice (Hand it over!)
Here a little slice, there a little cut
Three percent for sleeping with the window shut
When it comes to fixing prices
There are a lot of tricks I knows
How it all increases, all them bits and pieces
Jesus! It’s amazing how it grows!
Straight fire them, oh wait they’re public sector workers and we don’t do that here. The NHPDB have essentially scammed tax payers out of billions with nothing to show for it. If they’re aren’t corrupt they are simply the most incompetent bunch of [broadsheet would censor it so I wont bother writing it] in the world.
This has lasted several governments, so blaming the Health Minister du jour is not going to cut it folks.
Soc Dem leaders doing bang up job of holding them to account, would have super happy to vote them in again – but no candidates were run in Dublin West last gen elec for some reason!?
Soc Dems and Sinn Fein should discuss a voting pact for the next General
especially in constituencies like Dublin West,
and here in DSC
Jaysus V, I’m not a betting man but I’d love to see the Paddy Power odds on that. Do strange times make for strange bedfellows?
Dunno about odds and all that yet
Need to see all the runners and riders etc
but a Local Constituency Level Confidence & Supply would get a few Soc Ds into the house
if Sinn Fein have no second candidate / third etc
makes sense to me anyway
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
That said there is zero guarantee the SF aren’t going to replace the incumbents with better people, and I doubt the non co-leader members of SocDems are as anxious to save the tax payer money as they are to build their own careers. Something which wet behind the ears Green party members can attest to seeing a lot of this year.
A voting pact between Sinn Fein, the Soc Dems, PbP and all the others swinging left
is the only way to put a decent opposition to the people next time
and even now in the house
if they all cooperated now, and formed a coalition in opposition
FFFGGreed wouldn’t be so cocky
the Cooperative way folks
if you believe in it –
Can achieve anything – together
This is simply what happens when the clients consultants aren’t a match for the contractors .
I think thats a bit naive. No one is calling a halt to it, which is exactly what happens in private industry where you have a non-infinite budget. Calling merely incompetent gets them off the hook. With this much money involved and no govt hitting the brakes there is little doubt of major corruption.
Id like to see the media expose the people behind BAM and chase them relentlessly to explain every penny. The country needs a greedy target like this to focus our ire on.
Eh what about the IRISH PEOPLE that are paid from our taxes that are enabling BAM to continue to fleece the taxpayer.
A private companies job is to make money, our civil servants job is to (ostensibly) get a good deal for the tax payer. BAM are certainly doing theirs.
I HEAR YOU!
Tallaght overrun keeping up with the James’s!
“.hundreds of claims for hundreds of millions of euro .”
We’re already into a Billion+ over-run.
BAM don’t mind hopping into bed with Denis O’Brien. Please don’t tell me that he has an interest in this.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/bam-seeks-to-build-residence-for-300-students-in-dublin-1.2673681
any news on how many scope additions or scope changes were instructed by the client since the contract was awarded?
or how many times drawings were updated to take account of errors?
or how the late issuance of specifications and drawings by design consultants have delayed planned progress?
do we know if appropriate ground condition surveys were completed at the outset to facilitate the planned construction methodology and schedule?
was the access promised at tender stage and contract signing afforded to the contractor at construction stage?
the contract is there to protect both parties and there are mechanisms within it to administer changes, delays, lack of access etc
point is it is not all big bad BAM. That said, afford them an inch and they may take a mile.
the contract was awarded much too early. the political gain at award was seen to outweigh the potential backlash of a poorly executed construction stage.
they may have gotten it wrong, but we won’t know until the end
it will be closer to €3Bn
If I was in charge of spending 1.5 billion on a hospital and I didn’t have a single clue how to go about it I’d have a stroke, but I suppose these people are a different kind of animal.