Planning permission for the national children's hospital at the St James's site in Dublin is unlikely to be granted until the end of next year, according to Health Minister James Reilly.

Announcing the appointment of members to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, which is overseeing the project, Minister Reilly said it was now aimed to secure planning permission by December 2014.

Dr Reilly said a key factor in finalising the scale and design of the St James's building will be the outcome of a review currently underway on where to locate paediatric urgent care centres in other parts of Dublin. These would deal with minor illnesses and injuries when the existing children's hospitals move to the St James's site.

However, with building work on the new hospital not likely to begin until late 2015, the new hospital may not be ready until late 2018. This is presuming that planning permisison is granted next year.

The decision to locate the hospital at St James's was made in November last year, and preliminary work on the project has until now been carried out by a transitional board.

The Minister has also appointed members to the Children's Hospital Group Board,which will, he said, oversee the integration of the three existing children's hospitals in advance of the move to St James's.

Longstanding plans to build the children's hospital at the Mater were abandoned last year in the wake of a planning rejection by An Bord Pleanala.