Much of the €40 million of taxpayers' money spent on planning for the now abandoned children's hospital at the Mater site in Dublin may have been wasted, the latest financial statements of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board have indicated.

The Board was previously tasked with overseeing the development of the Mater children's hospital project, but its work came to nothing in 2012, when following the rejection of planning permission by An Bord Pleanala, the Government decided to build the hospital instead at St James's.

Writing in the recently-published financial statements of the Board, for the year 2012, Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy said the statements include assets valued at €40 million in relation to planning and development costs of the Mater hospital project.

The Development Board was set up in 2007.

"Arising from the Government decision to change the location of the hospital, it is likely that these assets are now impaired", Mr McCarthy said.

He said the Board had initiated a detailed asset impairment review, which had not yet been completed, and as a result 'there is uncertainty around the value of the assets'.

The accounts state that there are certain elements of the business/project management services and design works, procured to date, which are unlikely to retain their full value for the future hospital.

The financial statements show that as a result of the Government decision to change the children's hospital site from the Mater to St James's in 2012, all the main contracts and discharge of liabilities relating to the design and planning of the Mater project were terminated.

A total of €3.36 million was spent on the Mater project in 2012 and €8.69 million in 2011, the accounts show.

Up to the end of 2012, the Development Board had spent €24.5 million on the business services team, €3.18 million on the project management team, €6.16 million on the integrated design team and €6.19 on admin and other costs.

The latter included €1.75 million was spend on the doomed project's payroll costs and 1.6 million on planning expenses up to the end of 2012.

A new development board is now charged with progressing the new hospital on the St James's site.

The project brief for the new hospital has been approved by the HSE and a planning application is due to be lodged next year. There are fears however, that the St James's project too could run into planning difficulties.

Similar to what transpired with the Mater site, some interest groups are now saying the St James's site is not suitable for the national children's hospital and that it should be built elsewhere.

The new hospital, should it get planning go-ahead, is not expected to be ready for patients until late 2018 at the earliest.