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TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said that it was “scandalous” that some government agents got the estimated cost for the National Children’s Hospital “so wrong”.
He was reacting to a statement made by Minister for Health Simon Harris last week, where he said that “the only scandal” would be if the project was cancelled.
“Our agents made some mistakes in calculating the costs,” Varadkar said, but added that “nobody would be sorry” when the hospital opens, which is scheduled for 2023.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, he spoke about Brexit, the National Broadband Plan, and recounted his “disbelief” to hearing about the extent of the overspend on what he called the “ill-fated but much-needed” Children’s Hospital.
“I wasn’t entirely surprised that the costs had overrun, but I really couldn’t believe that it was €400-and-something million more than we thought it would.
Obviously the first thing was to say ‘No get lost, go back to the contractors, tell them we’re not paying, negotiate this down’.
He said that the government has tried to tackle the overspend, and said that one of the contractors for the Children’s Hospital had its fees renegotiated from €200 million down to €60 million.
He said that although there are things that could have been done better, such as informing the public quicker, it wouldn’t have made the hospital cheaper to build.
I don’t think if we’d been having meetings every week about it, that it would have been cheaper to build. There are lots of things that could have been done better… Would it have been cheaper if we did those things? No, I don’t think so.
“We can’t take credit for getting things right if we don’t take responsibility for this,” he added.
Speaking about Brexit, the Taoiseach said that he’s “not surprised at all” that he’s being portrayed as the “bogeyman” by elements of the British media.
There are elements of the British establishment that don’t like an Irish government or Taoiseach standing up for Ireland. That they don’t understand why we’re not leaving too. They don’t understand why, to use their language ‘fall in line’.
“They don’t understand why we’re not helping them out instead of remaining with the European Union – I’m not apologising for that.
“We made a decision a hundred years ago to be independent … We’re going to travel a different road that the United Kingdom apparently, but it’s a better road.”
He said that a deal was better than an extension, and an extension was better than a no-deal Brexit. He also said that he would prefer that the UK would reverse its decision to leave the European Union, but when asked whether he would like to see a second referendum, the Taoiseach said “that’s not my business”:
I know how sensitive some British politicians and the British media can be so there is nothing they would like more than for me to call for a second referendum so they can then jump all over that, so I’m not going to walk into that one.
He said that no decision had been made about when there would be a reshuffle, and that although “the logical time” was to hold one after local elections in May, although that could be pushed back to June or July further if there’s an extension to Brexit day (which is currently 20 March).
He also said that the level of talent among Fine Gael backbenchers meant that he could “probably appoint a Cabinet of all new ministers”.
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I work with Caroline and how she has conducted herself through these terrible events is very admirable. Her and her family’s determination to get justice despite their grief and the awful circumstances of Michael’s death shows such strength of character. I hope they uncover the whole truth. RIP Michael Dwyer.
can’t argue with any of this, and i feel very sorry for her and the family. but this article does nothing to address what he was doing in bolivia. recession doesn’t lead to many people seeking their fortune in latin america with right wing europeans. my guess is (and yes it’s a guess), he was bored with ireland, and was drawn in by a charismatic person with ideas of revolution and adventure and the like. won’t be the first or last to do this, and not always a bad thing necessarily. think of irish poeple who fought in spanish civil war. and by the way, whatever the circumstances of him being there, it bears all the hall-marks of extra-judicial killing.
Bolivia of all places to go..
Australia, America or Canada would probably have being safer…
Hopefully the truth will come out,
But it’s very doubtful it will….
ODwyer was murdered by the Bolivian government in an attempt to undermine rebels seeking independence in that region of Bolivia. They tried to make it look like he was an IRA mercenary along with others from the former russian block and eastern europe to justify their actions in the region.
Many know of his story of security courses that fell through in Europe and the US and for some reason he ended up doing some form of training in Bolivia..but he is an innocent man an he was murdered!
My condolences to Michael’s family. I heard his parents speak on radio one morning a few years back and they struck me as very reasoned, decent people who just wanted to find out what happened to their beloved son. I wish the armchair detectives would just zip it and let them get on with their heartbreaking quest. I cannot imagine their pain and the loss they face every day. I can only wish them strength and success and hope that they find the truth. There but for the grace of god…
Wasn’t he part of a group out to murder the Bolivian president? Good job their plans were foiled.
Dave, there is no proof of that at all .
Did he have any connection with the dodgy mercenary “commander” in Louth? Well covered in the Pheonix.
Greg I worked with Caroline too and I have no doubt others reading this may have a personal connection with Caroline or some other family members. Please show some respect. Those who don’t know the fact please stop assuming that you do.
But the family don’t know the facts either, nor do any of the people who support the idea that he was innocent.
I agree people shouldn’t so easily make assumptions, but that goes for both sides!
Did this guy do any ‘Bodyguard’ courses? Any ‘Close Protection’ courses? Or ‘Hostile Environment Awareness Training’ courses or the like? The ones that say learn to be a bodyguard in a weekend, 4 days, etc.
If so chances are is that he duped into a ‘job’ abroad. Unfortunately it has happened many times.
My condolences to his family.
I knew this guy in college in Galway. He was very mannerly . He worked in halo nightclub doing security and in Dunnes in the deli for a short period . He was very pleasant and friendly .
I’ve spent time in Bolivia and it can be difficult just to get the simplest of things done. Can’t imagine what this family have had to go through.
Did he have any connection with the dodgy “mercenary commander” in Louth. Well documented in the Pheonix magazine.
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