St Vincent's CF unit stalls over builder

PLANS FOR a specialist cystic fibrosis treatment unit face the possibility of further delays after the hospital involved moved yesterday to recruit a new builder for the €20 million-plus project.

St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, is planning to build the block with the backing of the Health Service Executive (HSE), which will include much-needed specialist facilities for cystic fibrosis sufferers.

The hospital recently sent a letter of intent to Michael McNamara Co, the first step in completing a contract for the work, but that company subsequently said it had difficulty getting finance for the development within the time allowed.

The hospital told the company recently it intended moving on to the next bidder.

Michael McNamara Co was lead by businessman Bernard McNamara who stepped down from his management and executive roles in January as a result of his own personal financial difficulties.

The high-profile developer was involved in many property deals, including the glass bottle site in Ringsend Dublin which was bought for €412 million by a consortium, but which is now valued at about €60 million.

St Vincent’s said in a statement yesterday it has now sent a letter of intent to “the next preferred bidder”, which the HSE later confirmed to be another Irish building company, John Paul Construction.

That company has 30 days to respond to the hospital’s letter if it wants to take up the contract to build the unit. The hospital said yesterday it was confident the tender process could be brought to a conclusion over the coming weeks.

The unit will have facilities to treat patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and cancer and those in need of liver transplants.

It has been planned for some time, but a shortage of funding prompted the Government to recommend the hospital tender for the work. The contractor will be paid when it is completed.

St Vincent’s said the HSE had ring-fenced the money to pay for the development and added that the site had been cleared and was ready for building to begin.

Tenders were submitted late last year and St Vincent’s sent its original letter of intent in April to Michael McNamara and Co. The firm would not comment yesterday, but it previously argued that the client was to blame for the delay, as it took four months to respond to the original tenders.

McNamara also claimed that it was not given enough time to raise the cash needed for the project. Building contractors generally borrow a portion of the funds needed to pay for big projects.

They are normally paid in stages as various elements of the work are completed. This, in turn, allows them to begin paying off any sums they have borrowed to fund the project.

However, the deal with St Vincent’s is based on the contractor getting the full sum once the work is completed. McNamara said that the “unusual nature” of the contract meant that it needed more time to raise funds.

John Paul Construction did not comment yesterday. That firm is already building a private facility for St Vincent’s.

However, that deal has no bearing on the firm’s selection as one of the preferred bidders for the project which includes the CF unit.

That tendering process had to be carried out according to the HSE’s procurement rules and guidelines, as it is providing the money, even though the hospital is the actual contracting party.

St Vincent’s said yesterday that it remained in regular touch with the Cystic Fibrosis Association and with its patient liaison group at the hospital itself. “They have accepted our assurances that the tender process will be completed and that construction will commence shortly,” St Vincent’s added.