A milestone has been reached in the development and relocation of a new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) to Elm Park, Dublin, as the tender package for the main works contractor is issued.

Following Government approval to proceed to tender in July 2023, the first step of the tender process began in September 2023. Now prequalified tendering contractors will prepare and submit their tender offers for the construction of the new hospital.

The newly relocated NMH will be a new seven-storey building, over 50,000m2 and will be constructed at the eastern side of the existing St Vincent's University Hospital. Enabling works to accommodate the main construction works are in progress at Elm Park and will continue in parallel to the tender for the main development works. This will allow the new NMH to be constructed as a single-phase development.

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Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly said:

"I welcome this major step in the relocation of the new National Maternity Hospital. This hospital will be the greatest infrastructural investment by the State in the area of women’s health to-date, providing state of the art facilities for women, girls, and babies for generations to come.

"The relocation of the NMH will support the delivery of the National Maternity Strategy as we move towards the co-location of maternity and adult services, in line with international best practice, and to ensure the health and welfare of mothers and their babies, and better women’s health services."

The Master of The National Maternity Hospital, Professor Shane Higgins said: "The National Maternity Hospital welcomes this significant milestone and looks forward to working with all relevant parties to progress this crucial development."

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has engaged with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that contractual arrangements for the new NMH project will protect the State's interests and that key learnings from the New Children's Hospital (NCH) have been appropriately captured and addressed.