Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2009
382 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 188 of 24 June 2009 if he has finalised his consideration of the proposal to construct a new building to accommodate a school (details supplied) in County Cork ; if he has examined the possibility of a public private partnership in this case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34867/09]
View answerThe project to which the Deputy refers is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The brief for the project is to provide a new 12 classroom school building including a general purpose hall and ancillary accommodation on a greenfield site.
The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction is dependent on the prioritisation of competing demands on the funding available under my Department's capital budget.
The proposed building project for this school will be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme for 2010 and subsequent years. However, in light of current competing demands on the capital budget of my Department, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the proposed project at this time.
The make up and timing of further school bundles in my Department's PPP school building programme will be determined by my Department in consultation with the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA). The issues to be considered in the timing and bundling of these schools include site availability for each school, geographical spread and the estimated total cost of the proposed school bundle.
My Department has no objection in principle to providing primary schools under the PPP programme and primary schools are being provided as part of current bundles. However, it is worth noting that these primary schools are being provided on shared sites with post primary schools, also being procured by PPP. My Department will continue to consider carefully all possibilities when assembling the next bundle of PPP projects for progression. The indicative timeframe for the delivery of a PPP bundle of schools currently stands at approximately 4 years from the date the bundle is formally announced.
