Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall has said that she believes the cost of building the National Children's Hospital will eventually reach €2bn. It comes after the board overseeing the National Children's Hospital project said that construction inflation levels are running higher than what is in the contract. The board has said it is now working within budget since the Government approved the final bill for it last December, but it could increase the cost by up to €150m. As indeed have many other projects, including the National Broadband Plan. It did not make any sense that a publicly-funded hospital like the National Children’s Hospital would be incentivised to take in increased numbers of private patients, which would be at the expense of public patients, she said.

Source: Irish Examiner June 13, 2019 09:56 UTC