Eilis Hardiman has been appointed CEO of the Children's Hospital Group, which is tasked with developing the planned national children's hospital at St James's in Dublin.

Ms Hardiman, who has been CEO at Tallaght Hospital for the past two years, was previously CEO of the board which coordinated the children's hospital building project at the Mater site in Dublin.

However, longstanding plans to build the children's hospital at the Mater were abandoned in the wake of a planning rejection by An Bord Pleanala.

The decision to locate the hospital at St James's was made in November last year.

The St James's project still has to get planning permission, and a decision on planning is unlikely to be made until the end of 2014. Building work on the new hospital would then begin in 2015, but the new hospital may not be ready until late 2018 at least. 

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 three children's hospitals move to the St James's site.

Announcing Ms Hardiman's appointment, Health Minister James Reilly said the role of CEO of the Children’s Hospital Group was critically important in driving forward the integration of the three hospitals, and the project as a whole.