Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 December 2020
171. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the status of progress on the building of a permanent school building for a school (details supplied); the status of the tendering process; and the timeframe for completion of the build. [43766/20]
View answer172. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of providing prefab accommodation for a school (details supplied); the length of time she expects the teachers and students to be accommodated in same; and the reason there has been a delay in providing a permanent school building for the school. [43767/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 171 and 172 together.
The application for planning permission for the permanent school building for the school referred to by the Deputy was lodged in December 2018 and the notification of the Decision to Grant Permission (subject to 18 no. conditions) was received on 13 June 2019. Two of these conditions were subsequently the subject of a first party appeal by my Department to An Bord Pleanála (ABP). The decision on this appeal was received on 4 February 2020.
In early December 2019, the tender notice was published for the first bundle of projects in the first stage of a two stage tender process to establish a new Framework of Design and Build Contractors.
It was not possible for the school in question to be included in the first bundle of projects as the decision of ABP was not received until February 2020.
This school building project is due to be included in the next bundle of projects and it is expected to go to tender in Quarter 2 of 2021. This exact timeframe will be dependent on the completion of phase 2 of the current tender process to establish the Framework of Contractors which is expected to conclude in Quarter 1 of 2021.
Pending delivery of the permanent building project, my Department will continue to address the interim accommodation needs of the school on its permanent site and the school authorities will be kept informed of progress.
Since 2016, the total spend on the provision of interim accommodation is some €4.78m including some €220,000 of expenditure related to Furniture/Equipment and ICT which will be used when the school moves to their permanent accommodation and some €1.5m of expenditure related to site works for the interim accommodation which will also facilitate the construction of the permanent school building.
