Ronald McDonald House for new National Children's Hospital will cost over €28m

Gordon Deegan

A Co Clare mother has described the benefits of the Ronald McDonald House at CHI Crumlin in Dublin as ‘priceless’.

Jane O’Leary made her comment on Thursday as the HSE and the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Ireland confirmed that the cost of the new 52-ensuite-bedroom Ronald McDonald House for the new National Children’s Hospital is €28.47 million.

RMHC Ireland has stated that its spend on the new home - capital and operating costs - will total over €66 million over the next 25 years.

New accounts filed by the Ronald McDonald House Charities Ireland confirm that it is providing €10 million towards the capital spend with the HSE funding the remainder.

A spokeswoman for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Ireland said Thursday along with the €10 million capital contribution RMHC Ireland is "gifting our current purpose-built facility at CHI Crumlin to CHI, which has an estimated value of €5 million”.

She said that in addition to that, RMHC Ireland "will cover all operational costs of running the House over the next 25 years, at no cost to the state - estimated at over €1.6 million annually, based on projected inflation - bringing our total contribution to the State and to families to over €66 million across that timeframe".

Construction work commenced on the new Ronald McDonald House close to the National Children’s Hospital in March 2024.

The RMHC spokeswoman said: “At the moment, we’re expecting to receive the keys to the new Ronald McDonald House from Clancy Construction in November. Once we have access, we’ll begin the fit-out phase to get the House fully ready for families.”

The HSE will own the completed building, and it will be leased to the charity.

The accounts for RMHC show that a further €1.5 million is committed for ‘fit out and commissioning costs of the new Ronald McDonald House.

The spokeswoman said: “Clancy Construction was appointed to design and build the new Ronald McDonald House following a competitive tendering process run by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) in 2023."

She said: “The project is within budget.”

She added: “This new House will more than double our current capacity at CHI Crumlin, where we have 20 rooms. It means hundreds more families every year will have a place to stay together beside the new hospital and right when they need it most.

A spokeswoman for the HSE said that RMCD has operated the Ronald McDonald House at CHI Crumlin for 20 years and “during this time, more than 5,000 families from across the island of Ireland have availed of its services”.

The charity’s cash funds at the end of 2024 totalled €14.8 million. The charity’s total income last year increased by €1 million to €3.9 million and its spend in 2024 totalled €1.6 million.

McDonalds operators here donate 0.04 per cent of their revenues which amounted to €254,283 last year. The contribution translates to an estimated €635 million in McDonald's sales on the island of Ireland in 2024.

Public donations through coin boxes and kiosk donations in McDonald's restaurants are up 63 per cent to €640,504 "due to the continued migration from cash to cashless transactions".

Reflecting on her time spent at the Ronald McDonald House in 2021, Newmarket on Fergus woman, Jane O’Leary said that their daughter Imogen was born on March 24th, 2021, in the height of Covid restrictions.

Jane said that Imogen “was born with an undiagnosed congenital diaphragmatic hernia in Limerick Maternity Hospital and within hours she had to be transferred by Crumlin Ambulance service to Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin”.

“It was such a traumatic time, an extremely sick baby, first time parents, homeless in Dublin being from Clare and no family support around us due to travel restrictions.

“We will never be able to fully express our gratitude and appreciation to the staff of the Ronald Mc Donald House, not only did they provide us with a place to live on the hospital grounds only minutes from the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit where Imogen was fighting for life and to be strong enough to undergo life saving surgery, but they provided us with compassion and care on the most challenging days.

“They gave us a safe space and a listening ear to decompress after a day of watching your helpless child give every bit of energy they have to survive."

Jane said that the house “was our home for seventy nights and we were fortunate to meet other families in similar circumstances and from this our support network grew”.

“Everyone in the house, staff and families had an understanding of the highs and lows that can be experienced on a daily basis even hourly basis in the care of a sick child.”

“Ronald Mc Donald House equipped us with snacks, coffees and lunches so that we could put all of our energy in to the care and comfort of our sick children.

“On our arrival home from Dublin it was our turn to give something back to the Ronald Mc Donald House. We organised a Tractor Run with The Newmarket Agricultural Show with all proceeds going to the house to aid it to continue helping families through times when they are at their most vulnerable.

"We are fortunate to live in a community and to be surrounded by fantastic friends and family that came together to make it such a success raising €15,000.”

She said: “When we return for our check up appointments in Crumlin we visit the house and the staff remain so interested and invested in Imogen’s progress.

“The benefits of this house are priceless. We will never forget what it did for our family and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.”

West Cork father, Liam Crowley has also availed of the services of the Ronald McDonald House in Crumlin after the birth of twin boys, Richard and Daniel in April 2021.

He said: “They were seven weeks premature and Richard, the elder of the two, was born with Oesophageal Atresia, a rare condition where the oesophagus does not form.

"Both needed high dependency care due to their prematurity but as Richard required constant care he required to be transferred to ICU in Crumlin, leaving us with newborns in Cork and Dublin, far from home.

Mr Crowley said that the Ronald McDonald House “was a safe place for the many months that we were away from home and worried about our sons. There was great comfort and solace to be had from the staff there and also the other parents with whom you had a shared experience.

“Ultimately we spent just over eight months in Crumlin hospital with much of it spent in Ronald McDonald House. We will always be grateful to the staff there.”