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Public Private Partnerships

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 December 2018

Tuesday, 18 December 2018

Questions (215, 216)

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

215. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a post-project review has been carried out on the schools bundle of PPP projects; and if so, if it will be published. [53043/18]

View answer

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

216. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the requirements under the public spending code for post-project reviews of PPPs to be carried out and completed. [53044/18]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 215 and 216 together.

The Department is in the process of appointing a service provider to conduct a comprehensive review of the Pilot Schools, i.e. the first bundle of five post primary schools that were delivered in 2001/2002 through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The service provider will conduct a comprehensive review of the Pilot Schools including a direct comparison with traditional schools procured around the same time. It will incorporate detailed condition surveys of the buildings, as well as comparing the operation and maintenance provision in both PPP and traditional schools.

The more detailed nature of this review responds directly to a recommendation in the 2004 C&AG report on the Pilot Schools that, at the appropriate time, the costs and benefits of adopting the PPP approach should be assessed relative to the performance of a comparable group of schools procured conventionally. In line with the requirements under the Public Spending Code for post project reviews, it is intended to publish the key findings of the Review in 2019.

This will be the first formal Post Project Review of PPP projects carried out by the Department. Although other formal Post Project Reviews have not been carried out, it should be noted that PPP projects in the education sector are the subject of regular review and monitoring. Prior to handover to the Department, the NDFA conducts its own internal review of the procurement and construction phases and identifies any lessons which should inform future approaches. Important lessons were learned from earlier PPP projects which have been incorporated into more recent approaches. In particular, the Project Agreement, which provides the contractual basis for the PPP arrangement, has been regularly updated to ensure that it provides a robust framework for measuring the performance of the private partner and protecting the interests of the State over the lifetime of the project. The NDFA also carries out quality audits as part of its ongoing performance review and monitoring of PPP Schools.

The Department is also tracking the actual enrolments in PPP schools against the long-term projected enrolments. Enrolment data is provided on the Department’s website. This is important in assessing, as per the Public Spending Code, that the basis on which a project was undertaken proved correct and that the planned outcomes were the appropriate responses to actual public needs.

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