Michael Creed
Question:104 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans he has to reform the administration of the school building unit in the Department of Education. [23298/01]
Priority Questions. - Educational Administration.
In common with all other areas of the public service, the planning and building unit of my Department is undergoing a constant process of evaluation and change within the context of the strategic management initiative and the process of performance management and development. The planning and building unit at present processes over 850 major primary and second level school projects. Last year alone, in excess of £200 million was expended on primary and second level school accommodation. In the current year the expectation is that in excess of £220 million will be expended.
The focus of my Department's planning and building unit will increasingly be on ensuring quality, best practice and value for money through an evaluation and audit approach rather than a detailed involvement in individual projects. This will enable my Department to fulfil a more strategic, policy-orientated role in relation to school buildings. This changed role is enabled by the greater use of external design teams and by supporting school authorities.
A key element of the change process will be improved communication strategies. My Department is actively considering how, through the use of Internet technology and the publication of regular bulletins, school communities and others, including Members of the Oireachtas will be able to readily access up-to-date information on the status and progress of each building project. It is my clear intention to make a new communications strategy in relation to school buildings an integral part of my Department's application of e-procurement. I want to ensure that what we do in the building unit in terms of e-procurement will contribute significantly to the Government's drive to put Ireland at the forefront of such developments internationally.
Additional Information.In parallel with the conventional approach to delivery of major capital works in schools, my Department has been to the fore in advancing projects under the innovative public private partnership arrangements – PPP – envisaged in the national development plan. Drawing on the experience gained in relation to those projects, I envisage greater use of the PPP approach in the future to ensure delivery of quality buildings in a timely manner.
I have some sympathy for the Minister in this area as I know he is reaping the whirlwind of his predecessor who travelled the length and breadth of the country sanctioning new schools with little follow-up and the Minister has been left with a difficult task. Some elements of the way the Department does its business could be improved significantly. Is it acceptable to the Department that with a second level school extension or a greenfield site provision it takes the Department over five years from the date it recognises a need to the time pupils move into the facility? That means a full cycle of students has gone through the system and, by any yardstick, that is grossly inefficient. Notwithstanding the fact that we had £200 million last year or £220 million this year, in light of the commitments the Minister and his predecessor have given, it is substantially short of what is required. I pay tribute to the staff in Tullamore who work under extraordinary pressure but it is ridiculous that every school extension or greenfield project is on a treadmill of communication between the individual school and the Department in Tullamore. There should be some element of decentralisation and local decision-making, with greater authority given to boards of management to make decisions in respect of commissioning and contracting with builders and architects. Some of them take ten years.
That is exactly what is happening and the process I explained in my reply. I agree that there must be more delegation – that is what I am encouraging – but a project cannot be changed in the middle. However, this is the path I am taking. Also, in parallel with the conventional approach to the major delivery of capital works in schools, my Department is to the fore in advancing projects under public-private partnerships, as envisaged in the national development plan. I envisage greater use being made of these in the future. On second level projects taking more than five years to complete, we have increased the funds available – that was the problem – and four times as much is being spent now than four years ago. The Government made an effort to deal with the backlog of work to be done and further funds will be decided in the Estimates. Tullamore is a decentralised unit, but I appreciate what the Deputy said about getting more work done in schools.
In the light of the Minister for Finance's directions to Departments to prepare next year's Estimates on the basis of not increasing expenditure, what hope does the Minister hold out for those schools, primary and secondary, waiting for classroom extensions, resources for remedial teachers or a new science laboratory? Will he have a sufficiently enhanced capital investment budget to enable the five year cycle to be reduced to four, or three, in the short-term?
These are the matters being prepared for the Estimates in the budget. I am anxious to ensure we proceed with a substantial programme.