Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
478. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of works that have been undertaken to remove pyrite from some or all of the school buildings at a school (details supplied) from 2012 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13994/22]
View answerOnce the presence of pyrite in the school referred to by the Deputy was established, my Department's Planning and Building Unit sought legal advice as to how to proceed. The matter has been referred to the Chief State Solicitor’s Office.
The Deputy will appreciate that as this matter is still being dealt with by the Chief State Solicitors Office it is not possible for me to comment further at present.
The school have applied for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme to repair damage to fire doors and their surrounds which has been caused by Pyrite. The total amount approved to carry out these works since 2012 is circa. €273,000.
The building project for the extension to St Patricks NS Diswellstown will be delivered under the Department's ADAPT3 programme. This is a delivery programme which uses an external Project Management team to expedite progression through the design and tender stages of major school building projects.
The tender competition for the appointment of the ADAPT3 Project Manager (PM) is nearing completion and the PM is expected to be appointed shortly.
The first step to be undertaken by the PM will be the tender competitions for the appointment of design teams for a number of school building projects. This will include the appointment of the DT to progress the extension project for St Patricks NS. The DT will also be tasked with developing and progressing a remediation programme to deal with the pyrite issues in the existing school.
The legal action undertaken by the Department with regard to the pyrite issue will continue to be progressed in parallel with the above programme.
