Madam, – I noted with surprise Minister for Health Mary Harney’s comment that €20 million will be saved when the current children’s hospitals are brought together on one site, at the Mater in Dublin (Dáil Report, June 24th).
As a member of the Tallaght Hospital Action Group we took part in stakeholders’ consultations with the development board that is tasked with planning the new hospital. This meeting took place in December 2008.The development board took some time at that stage to explain the process involved, which included a cost benefit analysis that would take place after the design brief had been finalised.
The design brief is due to commence late 2009! The figure quoted by the Minister can therefore be viewed as fanciful at best.Perhaps the Minister, who has assigned €6.3 million so far to the development board should allow it to carry out the cost benefit analysis and quote figures which are based on more than supposition. – Yours, etc,