Nelligan - National Childrens' Hospital Site - Wrong Site Picked for Political Reasons

[C. Flower]

Another kick to touch?
Today the official word was that the location would be announced in the next three weeks.
Given the Gilmore 'independent examination' it looks like full scale war has broken out again.
BTW, the Fitzgerald guy in charge of the new report is the same lad that features on the Moore St thread

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...s-2817729.html

I had understood that planning aspects would be assessed this time as part of overall site suitability. If it is true that this has not been done it is a debacle and the most appalling bungling incompetence.

All prospective sites should have been tested against town / land use planning considerations before looking at anything else. If a site, because of its size, location, or lack of accessibility, could not meet basic requirements for the project (as is plainly the case with the Mater) then it should not be considered further. It was the first thing, not the last, that should have been checked.

[Baron von Biffo]

News at One claims that the Dolphin Report favours the St. James site.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Not John bloody Fitzgerald again- the last time he wrote a report for the HSE it was deemed 'confidential' to the HSE and he turned up on their Board shortly after.

That fellow needs to have a stop put to his public service gallop. His name comes up far too often in appointments as a 'safe pair of hands' in the shadow government of the state.

[Baron von Biffo]

Fergal Bowers suggesting that the original evaluation back in Harney's time also favoured St. James and that up to 24hrs before the public announcement they believed they had it. It was only at the last minute that the Mater was chosen.

So was it a case of Ahern bringing the bacon home to his constituency or problems for Harney's plan for a private co-located hospital at James' that led to the switch?

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Ahern promised the Blisters of Mercy the hospital, ethics committee n'all. He was a former employee of theirs and just the last in a long line of peasant Taoisigh who wish they'd never been quite so forthcoming in the confession box in Ireland.

Why the bloody hell that bunch should be awarded a hospital when they should be grateful they are even allowed live in the country is entirely another matter.

They already control at least two major hospitals in the Dublin city area. Why give them patronage and governance over a third?

What's next? Another baby selling scandal in a few years?

[disability student]

Ahern former accounts clerk at Mater, whose accountancy qualification was very dodgy. His strong connections with the RCC mainly due to the fact his family lives near All hallows college.

I would have preferred ideally that Children hospital be located outside Dublin and close proximity to motorways/services etc. Ideal location where it could be access by all parts of Ireland with good infrastructure/service provision.

A friend of mine from Galway, who goes regularly to Our Lady's hospital re his sick child as he already complaining re loads of traveling and cost of petrol so forth. He had seen in London & Liverpool hospitals were first class re accessibility and infrastructure as he went there for 2nd opinion re his child.

[DCon]

St James's (might be changed to St James Reilly's) or not?

GOVERNMENT SOURCES have played down reports that a decision on the location of the new national children’s hospital is a “done deal” and that St James’s Hospital will be awarded the contract.

The Cabinet will make its final decision on where the hospital will be located next Tuesday, after being briefed by Minister for Health James Reilly. He will give his assessment of the findings of a report drawn up by an expert group, chaired by former civil servant Frank Dolphin, which assessed the merits of all the bidders.

The material leaked to RTÉ showed St James’s performed better on the favoured criteria although Connolly and the Coombe hospitals both offered more potential for future planning as they had very large sites. However, Connolly was not in a position to offer as many specialities as St James’s with the authors of the report noting it would need a substantial investment of resources to develop into a major adult hospital of similar status to St James’s and the Mater.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...325940144.html

THE possibility of St James's being chosen as the site for the new national children's hospital has been boosted after positive comments from Dublin City Council about the chances of getting planning permission.

The local authority said it was satisfied that proposals to build the children's hospital, "within the city boundaries can work from the planning and infrastructure perspective."

Although it did not name any site, the council said choosing a city site would allow for public transport and other facilities to be used.

The 80-page Dolphin review said Connolly Hospital had the advantage when it comes to design and planning, offering the best potential for more construction and a landscape setting.

However, the adult hospital did not have a complete range of specialties and it would need a lot of investment in both building and staff over time, possibly decades in some cases, to fully meet these requirements.

The report also sees advantages in the amount of space offered by the Coombe Hospital bid, which has 20 acres of land near the Luas Red line.

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...t-3278613.html

[C. Flower]

May sense prevail.

[Stanley 2]

Ahern promised the Blisters of Mercy the hospital, ethics committee n'all. He was a former employee of theirs and just the last in a long line of peasant Taoisigh who wish they'd never been quite so forthcoming in the confession box in Ireland.

Why the bloody hell that bunch should be awarded a hospital when they should be grateful they are even allowed live in the country is entirely another matter.

They already control at least two major hospitals in the Dublin city area. Why give them patronage and governance over a third?

What's next? Another baby selling scandal in a few years?

Wouls love for Reilly to go public on Ahern re his connections and favouritism towards the Mater, rain fire and brimstone on his head so heavy that Ahern will fear to walk the streets of Drumcondra again.

Leo should do the same when it comes to sorting out DAA/Aer Lingus the pensions fiasco is boiling over as Ahern used PPP style of postponing debt to get the votes for himself.

[DCon]

A plan?

A PROPOSAL to build the new national children’s hospital adjacent to the Coombe women’s hospital in Dublin but under the aegis of an expanded St James’s Hospital has emerged as the favourite option for the project.

Minister for Health James Reilly is expected to recommend to Cabinet the creation of an integrated academic health campus in Dublin 8, comprising St James’s and the Coombe.

The new hospital would be built on State-owned lands beside the Coombe and both hospitals would be grouped with St James’s. Services such as human resources, administration and payroll would be shared to cut costs.

The lands offered by the Coombe are seen as offering the lowest planning risk of any of the bids submitted from inner city locations. The 20.5-acre site comprises the disused Player Wills cigarette factory, the Bailey Wilson scrap-metal salvage site and the derelict Boys’ Brigade playing fields, which are in the ownership of Dublin City Council.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...326090620.html

[Baron von Biffo]

A plan?


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...326090620.html

What constituency is it in?

[DCon]

This article is from May

The Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital in Dublin has said that significant savings could be made by building the new national children's hospital on a site off the South Circular Road.

The Coombe today published further details about its bid to have the new hospital located at its facility in Dublin 8.

The 20.5-acre site, which adjoins the Coombe, comprises the disused Player Wills cigarette factory, the Bailey Wilson scrap metal salvage site next door and the derelict Boys' Brigade playing fields, which are now in the ownership of Dublin City Council.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...reaking29.html

[DCon]

What constituency is it in?

I'm not sure of the boundaries in the shmoke, but it seems to be Dublin South Central but bordering both Dublin Central and Dublin South East, so Costello, Quinn, Lucinda and Shatter can all claim a victory for the locals

[DCon]

No hospital by 2016

Minister for Health Dr James Reilly has said the original timescale of 2016 to build the new National Children's Hospital cannot be met.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1105/chi...l-cabinet.html

[C. Flower]

No hospital by 2016

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1105/chi...l-cabinet.html

Well as it seems no planning assessment of the suitability of any of the sites has been completed, this is not surprising. For a project of this size, the design and planning end of things would surely take a minimum of three or four years ?