The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD has received Government approval this week to publish the General Scheme of the Children’s Health Ireland Bill 2026.

The Bill will integrate Children’s Health Ireland’s (CHI’s) services, buildings and employees into the Health Service Executive (HSE). This will include the new National Children’s Hospital Ireland.

The integration of the services provided by CHI into the HSE will reinforce national paediatric health service coherence, enhance operational efficiency.

Minister Carroll MacNeill said:

‘’With this week’s approval from Government, my Department will work with the Office of the Attorney General to develop the primary legislation necessary for the timely integration of the services of Children’s Health Ireland into the Health Service Executive.

This work will be carried out in coordination with CHI and the HSE to ensure a smooth transition into the well-established oversight governance structures of the HSE.

I also want to assure the families and patients that this reform will not impact on the day-to-day provision of services, the commissioning of the hospital, or any ongoing reviews.

I look forward to the completion of this process as an important development alongside the completion of our new National Children’s Hospital Ireland, which will provide the highest standard of care and facilities to young people.

“The Department will work closely with the Office of the Attorney General to draft the legislation with a view to commencing the legislation in the Oireachtas at the earliest possible opportunity.”

CHI was established as a statutory body on 1 January 2019 with the enactment of the Children’s Health Act 2018.

This brought together Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, and the paediatric service at Tallaght University Hospital into one new statutory entity. CHI is also responsible for the Outpatient and Urgent Care Centre at Connolly Hospital, which opened in 2019, and the Outpatient and Emergency Care Unit located at the Tallaght Hospital campus, which opened in November 2021.

Children’s Health Ireland Bill 2026: General Schemecan be found here.