Schools Building Projects Status

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 March 2013

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Questions (105)

Kevin Humphreys

Question:

105. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 115 of 21 March 2013, if in his reply he will indicate when the design team for a school (details supplied) will be appointed as the new school build is scheduled to start by 2014-15; if he will specifically outline the reasons for the delay and the action being taken to resolve same; and further if he will outline what is the process of consultation with the relevant stakeholders on the timeframe for the delivery that is under way, and who those stakeholders are; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15800/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The 5 year Capital programme announced in 2012 listed 275 major projects and indicated that these projects would be delivered on a phased basis with initial prioity being given to those projects identified for delivery in 2013 and 2014. As previously advised the project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to the Office of Public Works (OPW) for delivery and a Service Level Agreement between the Department and the OPW has now been signed. I understand that OPW propose to utilise existing in-house resources to deliver these projects and to buy in additional services as required.

As the project is scheduled to commence on site in 2014/2015 there is sufficient time available to the OPW to be in a position to meet this deadline.

The stakeholders in these projects is the management authority of the each of the schools in question and they will consulted and brief on a regular basis by the OPW on progress as the project moves through the various stages of architectural planning and timeframes for delivery.