The long-delayed National Children's Hospital (NCH) continues to be plagued by building problems, including ongoing water leaks, sub-standard ventilation and fire safety breaches, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
The board overseeing the project – whose costs now stand at €2.2billion and rising – admitted more faults with building work have been discovered, which could further delay the opening of the hospital.
The latest setbacks come as it emerged this week that 36 laptops worth €1,000 each were stolen last July from the complex, which is being built on the grounds of Dublin's St James Hospital.
NCH Builders BAM last night refused to rule out the possibility that the facility may not open its doors for another two years.
Asked directly if 2028 is now expected to be the completion date, a spokesman for BAM would only say: 'The National Children's Hospital is the largest healthcare investment in the State's history and is in the final stages of commissioning and certification.
The board overseeing the project – whose costs now stand at €2.2billion and rising – admitted more faults with building work have been discovered, which could further delay the opening of the hospital
'The specification, selection and approval of products and systems involves multiple parties throughout the project, including the NPHDB and their Design Team, and forms part of the overall design, review and certification process.
'BAM continues to work closely with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and Children's Health Ireland to deliver the hospital as quickly and safely as possible for the children of Ireland.'
The construction company also declined to comment on why more and more defects continue to be uncovered at what has become one of the world's most expensive children's hospitals.
In September, the MoS revealed the board overseeing the hospital project had to employ experts to carry out five times the number of inspections than usually required because so much defective work had been uncovered at the 380-bed facility.
We also revealed at the time that the NCH had yet to secure a final sign-off on a fire safety certificate.
But since then the problems have continued to mount.
In response to queries from the MoS this week, a spokeswoman for the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) confirmed: 'There is a range of defects that remain – in some cases, BAM has failed to demonstrate compliance and in others, they have not achieved the contract standard and remedial works are required.
NCH Builders BAM last night refused to rule out the possibility that the facility may not open its doors for another two years
'New defects continue to be identified and closed out through ongoing inspections. These span a range of issues, including water leaks, ventilation, acoustics, ductwork cleaning and fire door compliance.
'Regarding the fire doors located in the fire stairwells, BAM has not yet provided all requested data to demonstrate compliance and will be required to address any necessary remedial work through this final calibration work.'
The spokeswoman also said major remedial works were required on the hospital's bathrooms.
She added: 'Of the 244 bathroom pods, 126 needed work on the floors so water would drain properly. This work was completed in October 2025. It forms part of more than 200,000 defects that BAM has remediated to date.
'It is separate from the approximately 2,000 defects still remaining on the project and should not be counted as part of that figure. The hospital cannot be handed over until it meets quality and compliance standards satisfactorily.'
The construction company also declined to comment on why more and more defects continue to be uncovered at what has become one of the world's most expensive children's hospitals
The opening date for the hospital has already been changed 20 times, sparking significant political fallout and concern among patient advocacy groups.
On October 23, BAM provided another update, which is currently being reviewed by the hospital's design team, as well as an independent third party responsible for overseeing the building contract.
The NPHDB said BAM did not give 2028 date for the opening of the hospital but refused to say when this is now likely to be.
The spokeswoman said: 'The focus for all stakeholders remains completing the hospital to the highest standards as soon as possible for the children and young people of Ireland.
'CHI is responsible for commissioning and operational matters of the hospital. BAM has not provided a 2028 date. The NPHDB cannot comment further until the updated programme received from BAM has been reviewed by the ER and Design Team and deemed compliant or not.'
The spokeswoman said: 'The focus for all stakeholders remains completing the hospital to the highest standards as soon as possible for the children and young people of Ireland
The original cost for the new hospital was €650million and was due to be completed by 2020 but by 2019 the costs had spiralled to €1.79billion.
The approved budget for the facility currently stands at €2.24billion,though the final cost remains uncertain due to hundreds of millions of euro in unresolved contractor claims.
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