Skip to main content
Normal View

Wednesday, 23 Jan 2013

Written Answers Nos. 90 - 98

Public Sector Staff Data

Questions (90)

John Paul Phelan

Question:

90. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons working in education in the public service and under the current Croke Park Agreement who have salaries between €70,000 and €80,000, between €80,000 and €90,000, between €90,000 and €100,000 and over €100,000; the total number of personnel working across all sections of education in the public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3434/13]

View answer

Written answers

The information requested by the Deputy will be forwarded to him.

School Transport Provision

Questions (91)

Martin Ferris

Question:

91. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received a submission from a school (details supplied) in County Kerry for financial support to enable them to provide transport between the two schools in order to ferry students to and from each school in order to avail of the widest possible subject choice in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3436/13]

View answer

Written answers

Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport routes. Bus Éireann endeavours, within available resources, to ensure that each eligible child has a reasonable level of school transport service. There is no provision within the terms of the School Transport Scheme to provide funding for the transport services outlined by the Deputy in the details supplied.

Schools Refurbishment

Questions (92)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

92. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 214 of 23 October 2012, if he will indicate if there are grants available to DEIS schools to purchase scientific equipment for fitted school laboratories; if he will also explain the way a school that has had three labs renovated and fitted is meant to teach scientific subjects if is not provided with grant aid to purchase the necessary scientific instruments and equipment; if he will indicate the fittings that were included in the budget of €184,830 under the summer works scheme 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3455/13]

View answer

Written answers

I can confirm to the Deputy that the school concerned received funding in the amount of €184,830 under the Summer Works Scheme 2010 for the upgrade of three Science Laboratories. This funding was in respect of Option 3 as presented by the school with their application and the school indicated that this sum included for fitted furniture and equipment for the upgrade of the three Science Laboratories.

Details of equipment grants may be viewed on the Department's website www.education.ie

School Transport Eligibility

Questions (93)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

93. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a travel allowance grant in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3474/13]

View answer

Written answers

Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kms from and are attending their nearest national school as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

An eligible child for whom no transport service is available may, following an application for transport within the prescribed time limits, receive a Remote Area Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements.

This grant is payable annually, at the end of the school year, at a fixed daily rate.

My Department is currently liaising with Bus Éireann regarding all such applications and will contact the families in question in due course.

Public Procurement Contracts Tenders

Questions (94)

Robert Troy

Question:

94. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will reconsider the centralisation of the National Procurement Services with regards to the supply of stationary to schools which will come into effect from April 2013; if the suppliers of the NPS are local and if he will consider using existing school suppliers. [3149/13]

View answer

Written answers

The purpose of this Circular is to inform public bodies of the mandatory requirement to utilise central contracts, put in place by the NPS, when procuring a range of commonly acquired goods and services. Such central arrangements are targeted at securing best value for money and facilitating contracting authorities to deliver services within their budgetary constraints.

Where a public service body already has contracts in place for the categories of goods and services covered by the mandatory arrangements, it is expected that the public service body will transition to the NPS arrangements on expiry of the contracts currently in place.

The current holder of the stationery contract is Codex Limited, which is an Irish company, and that company reports that they have partnered with 136 other Irish SME suppliers to service this contract. Since 1st September 2012 this contract has been mandatory for all third level institutions (Universities, Institutes of Technology) and VEC schools but excluding other non-VEC primary and secondary schools.

The National Procurement Service will shortly be advertising a competition for a new stationery contract on the eTenders website and this competition will be run in accordance with all the established European and National procurement legislation. The new contract is scheduled to begin in April 2013 and its mandatory use will be extended to include all schools. It is anticipated that the new competition will facilitate many stationery suppliers to collaborate in the tendering process.

Public Procurement Contracts Tenders

Questions (95)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

95. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress being made in relation to reforming the public tendering process for projects such as schools and roads in order that organisations are not excluded due to unrealistically high thresholds or stringent requirements for consecutive years of high turnover; his views on whether the reforms are necessary to deliver greater competition for the State and fairness in the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3283/13]

View answer

Written answers

All policy, guidance and implementation measures relating to capital projects are published on the Construction Procurement Reform website www.constructionprocurement.gov.ie where the Capital Works Management Framework provides a suite of best practice guidance, standard contracts and generic template documents, which are available to download for all contracting authorities to provide a consistent approach to the management of public works projects.

The Capital Works Management Framework was introduced on a phased basis from 2007 and became mandatory for all contracting authorities in 2010. The documents are updated and augmented where appropriate to respond to new developments in the industry and changes in the regulatory environment.

The assessment of a tenderer’s financial and economic standing is a key part of any procurement process because the contracting authority needs to be reasonably assured that a contractor will have the necessary capacity to carry out a contract if the contractor is awarded the contract. Establishing the appropriate suitability criteria that are relevant and appropriate to a particular contract is, of course, a matter for the contracting authority concerned. This is because the contracting authority is in the best position to gauge the appropriate levels of financial capacity that are appropriate to the needs of that specific contract. My Department has developed specific national guidelines for contracting authorities in relation to minimum standards for suitability criteria for construction contractors interested in tendering for public works projects, published as part of the Capital Works Management Framework. In this regard, it is important to point out that there are no centrally imposed requirements for a minimum turnover. Such requirements would logically be developed on a case by case basis with reference to the specific needs of the contract.

The Government recognises that the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is very important to the economy and that public procurement can be a source of business for SMEs. In this regard, my Department has issued public procurement guidelines (Circular 10/10) to public bodies which are aimed at facilitating greater participation of SMEs in public procurement opportunities. In relation to suitability criteria, the guidelines stress that public bodies must ensure that any criteria/turnover levels set by them must be both justifiable and proportionate to the needs of the contract.

Public Sector Staff Retirements

Questions (96)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

96. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will clarify his plans regarding proposals to bring in compulsory early retirement in the public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3422/13]

View answer

Written answers

There are no plans to introduce compulsory early retirement in the public service.

Flood Relief Schemes Applications

Questions (97)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

97. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the discussions entered into by the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works with the Irish Insurance Federation in relation to securing flood insurance coverage for areas subject to OPW and local authority flood protection works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3218/13]

View answer

Written answers

On foot of my constructive engagement with the insurance industry last year, I indicated that I wished to see an agreement reached as quickly as possible between the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) on a sustainable system of information sharing in relation to completed flood alleviation schemes and works undertaken by the OPW or, in certain instances, by local authorities with OPW funding, and where the standard of protection afforded by these works could be verified.

Work has been ongoing in OPW on compiling information on such completed flood defence works in an appropriate format. A sample of data was provided to the IIF in July 2012. The IIF circulated this information to its member companies and a response was received by the OPW in November 2012. The feedback received from the insurance companies was positive and indicated that the sample information provided was usable subject to some relatively minor technical queries. A working group has now been established between, OPW, the IIF and representatives of several insurance companies to progress the work further. I am confident that good progress can be made on the exchange of information in order that the insurance industry can be better informed as to the extent and standard of investment by the OPW in flood protection measures and that that investment is taken fully into account in assessing flood risk for insurance purposes.

The first meeting of the working group took place on 17 January 2013 and the group will continue to meet regularly over the coming months in order to progress its work in this matter as expeditiously as possible.

Flood Relief Schemes Expenditure

Questions (98)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

98. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the sums spent by the Office of Public Works up to the end of 2012 on flood protection works in the Dodder River and the work that has been completed thus far; his plans for future works; the estimated cost of future works and the sums committed to these works in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3219/13]

View answer

Written answers

A report aimed at identifying viable measures to reduce flood risk from both tidal and fluvial causes on the Lower Dodder was completed in January 2007 by Dublin City Council with funding from the Office of Public Works. Following discussions with the Council, the OPW agreed to undertake construction of the works with its direct labour force with, Dublin City Council managing the design and construction of the project. The works commenced in September 2007 at Ringsend Bridge moving upstream to New Bridge. The works have been undertaken on a phased basis by the OPW. While some works up to the Railway Bridge have yet to be finished, the flood defence aspect is in place, so the tidally affected area is now protected from flooding to the accepted 1 in 200 year standard for tidal flooding.

The OPW has expended approximately €13.1million on the works since 2007. The works have mainly involved the construction of new walls and embankments, installation of new flood gates, quay wall repairs and a new pedestrian walkway. Emergency works are currently ongoing upstream of the Railway Bridge and these should be completed in the next couple of months. The raising of the parapets on London Bridge and New Bridge will commence in March and should be completed in the second half of 2013.

It is planned to commence the next stage of major works up to Ballsbridge in the first half of 2013 subject to Part 8 planning approval being received by Dublin City Council. The Council must first adopt The Dodder Catchment Flood Risk Management Plan which is expected to go before the Council in early February. Based on this programme, it is estimated that expenditure on the various works will be in the region of €2 million in 2013. In relation to future works, it is estimated that the cost of the defence works to Donnybrook will be in the region of €10 million over the next 3-4 years, subject to the availability of funding in those years.

Top
Share