- Additional reporting by Catherine Shanahan

The State’s chief procurement officer, who failed to flag the spiralling costs of the National Children’s Hospital with the Government, has resigned from the hospital development board.

The shock resignation comes as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar signalled in a letter to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin that there may be more overspending on the hospital.

The project is already €455m over budget and the cost looks set to rise further as contractors involved have submitted numerous claims.

The resignation of Paul Quinn, who led the procurement reform programme across the public sector, is noted in the August minutes of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board.

The minutes also record that the board, as of August, was still awaiting a final figure for the circa €2bn project from developers BAM and that the HSE was still working off an estimate.

The minutes state:

“It was highlighted that a final revised baseline programme continued to be awaited from BAM and that, as had been recommended, the executive has used a best estimate to produce a detailed cashflow programme submitted to the HSE, in the absence of details from BAM.”

The minutes also raise concerns “in relation to BAM’s health and safety leadership”, saying this “remained a concern”.

In a more recent letter seen by the Irish Examiner, Mr Varadkar confirmed that BAM is seeking additional money for work which was not included in the original scope of works.

Mr Varadkar refused to say how much more this could cost the State, claiming that “the individual details of these claims are commercially sensitive”.

Fianna Fáil has called on the Government to come clean about new potential overruns given the burden it impose on the taxpayer.

Its health spokesman, Stephen Donnelly, said: “We need full transparency around the potential cost overruns because they need to be budgeted for. It’s taxpayers’ money that in the healthcare system could be put to so much good use.

“The letter is certainly laying the ground for another series of over runs.”

Mr Donnelly accused the Government of trying to “shift blame” for any further overspend on the contractor.

“My understanding is that a portion of the contractor’s claims are due to a number of design changes on the part of the state agency and are in no way the fault of the contractor,” said Mr Donnelly.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Health Simon Harris.

Earlier this month, Mr Martin raised the issue of the National Children’s Hospital in the Dáil and asked whether it would involve a higher cost than indicated last year.

Responding by letter last Monday, Mr Varadkar said:

The main contractor has submitted claims to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board [NPHDB] which it alleges are outside of the agreed scope. The individual details of these claims are commercially sensitive interactions between the contractor and the NPHDB and cannot be discussed or released at this time.

Mr Varadkar added that no further increases have yet been agreed by Government.

Mr Quinn’s resignation is one of a number of high-profile resignations from the board this year in the wake of cost escalation. Chairman Tom Costello and project director John Pollack resigned in February and April, respectively. Previous chairs of the board to resign include Philip Lynch in 2010 and John Gallagher in 2011.

The August minutes also raise concerns regarding costs at satellite centres in Blanchardstown and Tallaght.

The minutes say “the nature of certain costs arising at the satellite centres was noted, and that “discussions were ongoing to confirm such costs as being beyond the remit of the NPHDB”.

The minutes state a discussion ensued “in relation to contingency levels and risk identified and it was noted that these would be discussed further at the next [Children’s Hospital Programme and Project] meeting”. Subsequent sections of the minutes were redacted.

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