Martin accuses govt of hiding truth about Children's Hospital as fears of fresh delays emerge
It is feared there are fresh delays to the new National Children's Hospital.
Budgetary concerns have also been discussed in private meetings between Government officials and the HSE.
Officials were told that the board overseeing the €1.7 billion project was trying to find "realistic construction timelines" after a new programme was given by the builders, BAM.
The board believes BAM's programme is "not in line" with its contract.
The minutes of the meeting between the Government and HSE oversight group in October, revealed by the Irish Times, show that because of the "exceptional level of claims" for additional costs by contractors, the projects contingency fund is now not sufficient for a project of this scale and complexity.
The National Paediatric Hospital Development board said it would need €15 million to defend itself against the high level of going claims being made by contractors.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin says the Government has been hiding the truth about the hospital from the public.
Mr Martin says he believes the cost of the hospital will end up costing €2 billion.
"I remember Leo Varadkar saying that short of an asteroid hitting the planet this hospital would be finished in 2020."
Public Procurement Expert Paul Davis says costs have spiralled because the project started without the design being finalised.
"What we did was we went into a build without a finished design and we tried to fit everything after the fact rather than before," said Mr Davis.
"With any build there will always be some contingencies but if you go in without a design in the first place those contingencies are just going to keep increasing and that is what we are seeing now."
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said that it is incorrect to say that the project didn't have a design.
