Case study: The Mater Private Hospital Dublin
In 2015, a change to technical standards meant that existing non-domestic 4 bar gas pressure reduction units situated within occupied buildings had to be upgraded to comply with the new technical standard.
Gas pressure reduction units, called District Regulation Installations (DRIs), are where the gas pressure is stepped down from medium pressure (4 bar) to low pressure to make it safer for customers, typically in urban areas. Gas Networks Ireland developed the ‘4 Bar in Buildings’ programme to identify and relocate any connections which did not meet the uprated safety standards. In total, 48 buildings across the Republic of Ireland spanning factories, hospitals, offices and residential blocks were earmarked to have their DRI moved from an interior to an exterior location, including The Mater Private Hospital Dublin (“the Hospital”).
Works at The Mater Private Hospital Dublin
We completed the last of these projects in March 2026 at the site of The Mater Private Hospital Dublin in Phibsborough. This was a particularly complex project due to the customer’s reliance on gas power to run the hospital and we had to keep any interruption of supply to an absolute minimum.
We liaised extensively with the customer to coordinate works in a way that would cause the least disruption to the Hospital. While the design and planning phase was carefully considered and negotiated over a longer timeframe, the on-site construction works were completed in less than three months. This involved:
- Building a new bespoke housing unit adjacent to the exterior perimeter wall of the hospital to house the relocated DRI and associated equipment;
- Fabrication of a new bespoke DRI unit
- Fabrication of a new bespoke skid unit;
- Excavation along Eccles Road to access the existing underground pipeline that feeds gas to the hospital so that the connection could be moved to the new DRI;
- Completing a non-routine (high risk) operation to bypass the flow of gas in the existing pipeline so that the gas supply to the hospital remained uninterrupted.
The careful execution of these works meant that the gas transfer was completed in just one day. Some overnight and after-hours work was scheduled so that full access could be facilitated for deliveries to The Mater Private Hospital Dublin throughout the construction and road works. There was also no disruption to local road users throughout the one-week road closure.
Great care was also taken to preserve the aesthetics of the building, with the bricks for the new unit matched almost identically to the existing hospital wall. The doors were also made to match the design and colour of the existing external doors.
The project was coordinated and managed by Gas Networks Ireland, with support from several delivery partners including Fingleton White as lead designers and GMC and its sub-contractors on the construction.
All necessary planning and licence applications were obtained, including road closure applications and road opening licences from Dublin City Council.
Customer feedback
“The removal of a medium pressure gas skid from our hospital which was located at the back of our boiler house to a new purpose-built structure on Eccles Place…was completed very successfully without any major concerns or issues arising.
“All our services were maintained throughout the project and had minimal impact on collections and deliveries in and out of the hospital.
“The out of hours shut down went according to plan and… the cooperation of all involved enabled a very successful project to be completed with minimum impact on the hospital.”
- Tony Maher, Head of Estates Services, Mater Private Network