Along with all the other baggage it inherited, the Fine Gael/Labour government was bequeathed three enormous infrastructural projects: a Metro North link from Dublin city centre to the airport, a prison at Thornton Hall, and a children’s hospital in the north inner city. Which, if any, should be built?
Given how long they spent in relative leisure on the opposition benches, one would expect that new ministers Leo Varadkar, Alan Shatter and James Reilly would already have a good idea as to how they want to proceed. So it is disconcerting to learn that Mr Shatter and Dr Reilly are both commissioning lengthy reviews on their respective projects.
The justice minister has asked for a report by the beginning of July on whether the 2,200-bed prison on a 140-acre site in north Dublin should proceed. Given the usual sclerotic pace of the Irish public service, one can imagine this deadline lapsing into autumn.
Mr Shatter is furious, and rightly so, at the €45m that has already been spent on Thornton Hall and not so much as a brick laid. However, there is no point in crying over spent money. As the justice minister has suggested, the fact that so much has been expended is itself a good reason to proceed. Ireland still needs a new, modern prison — Mountjoy simply isn’t fit for purpose.
At least we have a deadline for the review of Thornton Hall; we don’t even have that level of certainty about the children’s hospital. The health minister has said he plans to review the previous government’s decision to put the facility alongside the Mater hospital in Dublin. When that review will start and who will do it remain unclear.
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The long-running debate about the Mater site has been unproductive and inconclusive. For every expert who says the children’s hospital should instead be placed in Crumlin or on the M50, another can be found to defend the status quo. The bottom line is that the Mater site is probably no better or worse than the alternatives. Every month the decision is delayed costs between €550,000 and €650,000, according to the Department of Health. So why delay further?
The decision over Metro North is more complicated, as there are concerns that Ireland’s financial position could make it difficult to raise money to build it. However, this project has been bedevilled by political uncertainty, and a early statement from Mr Varadkar as to his intentions is required. The transport minister may prefer to build the Dart interconnector first. Fine. Either way, the need for more transport infrastructure in Dublin is obvious, and there would be a welcome offshoot in jobs and confidence.