Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 September 2021
351. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education if any school building or additional school accommodation applications in counties Laois and Offaly have been impacted due to Covid-19 and Brexit-related cost increases in the construction industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44442/21]
View answerThe Department of Education is aware of the challenging market conditions for tender processes that are currently underway.
The school building programme forms part of the National Development Plan and Project Ireland 2040 and is a key commitment in the Programme for Government.
There are currently over 250 school building projects at construction stage, with a continuous stream of other projects at or near the tendering stage.
The Department is working proactively to ensure that all school building contracts are awarded as expeditiously as possible, while working within the parameters set by the Office of Government Procurement and principles of public procurement set out at both national and EU level.
Once contracts are awarded, any variations to the contract sum can be addressed within the standard provisions of the Public Works Contracts.
The Department of Education is working closely with design teams on school projects to permit reasonable additional time for tenderers to submit tenders, allowing them ample time to price appropriately given the current market.
Where the tender closing date has already passed, and the lowest tenderer advises the Department of Education that they can no longer stand over their tendered sum and are withdrawing from the tender process, the design team are authorised to proceed to processing the next lowest tender until such point as a tenderer agrees to stand over their tender. Tender shortlists can include up to 8 tenderers ranked in order from the lowest to the highest priced tender sum.
While it is possible that some school projects will need to be retendered, this would be a last resort. If a retender is required, tenderers will have ample opportunity to adjust their tenders to accommodate emerging or anticipated market conditions.
The Department is not aware, of any large scale school building project in Laois or Offaly that has been adversely impacted by cost increases in the construction industry.
