Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 March 2023
186. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education if her Department has any plans to centralise and take over responsibility for the project management of school building projects and tenders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15795/23]
View answerMy Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects and this was achieved again in 2022 notwithstanding the wider construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues.
The overall approach is to facilitate devolved delivery of school building projects with centralised guidance and supports provided and funded by the Department.
Large and more complex delivery programmes are typically managed and delivered on a more centralised basis with project management supports.
Under Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day.
Project Management and procurement by its nature can be detailed and complex and my Department is very conscious of the need to support the school system with good procurement guidance and arrangements to facilitate strong National Development Plan rollout.
Key initiatives include:
- The Planning & Building Unit has a number of consultant and contractor Frameworks in place that are used for call-off tenders in the appointment of construction teams to deliver on our capital works programme. These are updated as their lifespan expires and are regularly reviewed with regard to capacity and fitness for purpose.
- Guidance for schools and Design Teams on procurement in respect of school building projects.
- A wide variety of frameworks to facilitate delivery such as Project Managers, Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, D&B Contractors, Modular Accommodation etc.
- Professional support for key delivery partners such as ETBs and other stakeholders in the form of Project Manager resource
- A dedicated Procurement Team within the Planning and Building Unit to provide strategic support and expertise to assist with rollout of NDP including ongoing replenishment of existing frameworks and development of new ones
In addition my Department’s Capital Works Programme and individual schemes such as summer works, energy retrofit, maintenance and emergency works provides many procurement opportunities across the entire country for small, medium and large scale consultants and contractors to tender and work on school projects. My Department’s summer and emergency works schemes in particular by their nature of smaller scale, facilitate procurement often at a local level.
