It is considered a scandal that the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen will cost the taxpayer three times more than the building is worth, thanks to the Private Finance Initiative.

But there is no daft New Labour debt mechanism to blame at the Royal Hospitals site in Belfast, where new maternity and children’s hospitals are running two and three times over-budget respectively. They are also a decade late – at least the South West Acute opened on time.

The Belfast Trust has simply been overwhelmed by the complexity of both projects. Reports have overlooked further related problems.

The children’s hospital requires completion of the Royal’s new power station, which is also behind schedule.

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The delay with the maternity hospital has kept two floors of the nearby critical care centre empty since it opened in 2015, as a link bridge has to be built to it. The critical care centre was plagued with other issues during and after construction.

In 2020, the assembly’s Public Accounts Committee recommended creating a single oversight or advisory body for all major capital projects. Many independent experts agree, but ministers and officials rejected the idea as they felt it would step on their toes.

How many more fiascos will it take before they learn the lesson Kevin McCloud imparts in every episode of Grand Designs?

Stormont needs to hire a project manager.

• Mike Nesbitt must take control as delays and cost........
  

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