The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science currently has five ongoing or planned PPP projects.
The contracts for three PPP projects at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI), the Cork School of Music (CSM) and the Technological University of Dublin (TU Dublin) PPP were awarded in February 2003, September 2005 and March 2018 respectively. These projects are currently in the operations phase.
In addition, the Higher Education PPP Programme aims to deliver 11 new facilities through the procurement of two separate bundles of PPP projects. The first bundle in the programme, Higher Education Bundle 1 PPP (comprising six facilities), was awarded in December 2022 and is currently in the construction phase and has a final target completion of mid-2025, with some facilities expected to reach completion in late-2024. Details on the project payments are available in the 2022 appropriation account (extract below).
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Name of PPP project
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Cumulative expenditure to 31 December 2021
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Expenditure in 2022
|
Legally enforceable commitments to be met in subsequent years
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Project total 2022
|
|
|
€'000 (Incl VAT)
|
€'000 (Incl VAT)
|
€'000 (Incl VAT)
|
€'000 (Incl VAT)
|
|
Grangegorman quads
|
49,599
|
22,320
|
533,917
|
605,836
|
|
Higher Education Bundle 1
|
4,951
|
1,312
|
711,404
|
717,667
|
|
MTU - Cork School of Music
|
126,832
|
8,445
|
88,946
|
224,223
|
|
MTU - National Maritime College of Ireland
|
147,525
|
6,758
|
41,992
|
196,275
|
|
Total
|
328,907
|
38,835
|
1,376,259
|
1,744,001
|
The total NDP capital allocation for my Department in 2022 was €537m, therefore the percentage share made in payments for PPP’s was approximately 7%.
The second bundle, Higher Education Bundle 2 PPP, is currently in procurement. Due to the commercially sensitive nature of procurement, it is not appropriate, at this time, to provide details of anticipated costs.
In terms of costs for the completed projects, the payments made by the State over the life of the PPP contract (typically 25 years after construction) include not just the cost of design and construction but also the cost of financing, operating and maintaining the facility (including services such as planned and reactive maintenance, grounds maintenance, cleaning, caretaking, security and waste management). The PPP company must provide a fully maintained facility for the duration of the contract and carries the risk in relation to rectification of any construction defects that occur during the term. If a facility is not available or services are not provided in accordance with the standards set out in the contract, the State is entitled to reduce its monthly payment until the required standard is restored.
