A company which built schools later found to have structural defects has been hired to build a new ward block at University Hospital Limerick.
Western Building Systems was awarded the contract to build a new 60 bed ward block at the hospital.
The contract to construct the new large area for inpatient accommodation is understood to be worth €14 million, excluding VAT, and was signed in May 2019.
The news comes as 42 schools constructed by WBS across Ireland have been at the centre of a safety probe.
The schools were assessed over safety fears last November and 19 were cleared to open without any further intervention.
Last Thursday, Education Minister Joe McHugh confirmed that structural flaws were identified at 17 schools built by the group and could require further work to be carried out.
However Western Building Systems (WBS) said it has "serious concerns" over how long the independent review will take.
In a series of queries put to the department, the Co Tyrone-based firm asked what criteria was adopted for the remedial assessments and subsequent works at the schools.
It also questioned why the schools identified which were certified by the department's own professional assessors, were "suddenly" deemed to have defects.
In a statement the company said: "What were the department's officials and employed professionals looking at when they were regularly on our school sites and every other non-WBS school site, and originally when evaluating tender proposals?
"We were told that a Clerk of Works appointed by the department was onsite at each school from 2017, yet schools completed in 2017 and 2018 are now the subject of remedial works. How has this situation come about?"
Regarding the awarding of the contract, a HSE spokeswoman said: "The proposal to provide a fast track ward block at UHL was initiated during 2018.
"Following a public procurement process by the HSE, the successful bidder was Western Building Systems.
"Funding to progress the project was subsequently included in the HSE Capital Plan 2019."
"This contract is now also underway and progressing well through the design development process. There will be an element of off-site manufacture to be followed by the on-site construction phase for the main ward building itself."
