Builder Bam Fails to Provide New Completion Date for National Children’s Hospital

Builder Bam has not provided an updated substantial completion date for the long-delayed new national children’s hospital, the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will be informed on Thursday. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) will tell the committee that dust in ventilation ducts is a major issue, alongside an unprecedented 106,500 defects found in the hospital’s 5,728 rooms.

The NPHDB states that while normally 10% of rooms are inspected, 100% of rooms in this project are being inspected to ensure clinical and regulatory quality, a process that is more time and resource intensive but necessary. Approximately €1.648 billion has been spent on the project at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, which received planning permission a decade ago.

NPHDB chief officer David Gunning will state that construction is in its final stages. However, Bam Ireland confirmed on March 24, 2026, it would not meet its commitment for substantial completion by April 30, 2026, which is about 40 months later than the revised contract date of December 2, 2022. This marks the 19th time Bam has changed its completion date, and an updated contract programme requested on March 27, 2026, has not yet been provided.

The NPHDB and Children’s Health Ireland are focusing on the “hot block” areas, including the emergency department, imaging, laboratories, critical care, and operating theatres. While levels one and two were expected in early March 2026, Bam is now expected to hand them over in the coming weeks. Gunning attributes Bam’s delays to its failure to deploy sufficient skilled labour and competent management, leading to a lack of a “right-first-time” approach and significant rework.