Jump In Price Of Mica Sends Cost Of Children’s Hospital Soaring

A huge jump in the price of mica – the mineral builders use to make defective construction blocks – means the final bill for the National Children’s Hospital will exceed €1.43bn.

Contractors warn that it will reach “substantial completion” by the end of March 2024, provided no new way to prolong construction occurs to them before then.

The Irish Construction Industry said cut price defective building blocks were meant to be a way for its members to recoup the losses they suffered while in Nama. A spokesman cautioned that “Any rise in the cost of mica, will have to be passed on to the state!”