Noel Grealish
Ceist:111 Mr. Grealish asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the delay in awarding the building contract for the new Cork School of Music. [24231/02]
Written Answers. - Schools Building Projects.
Following an EU-wide tender competition, Jarvis Projects Limited was selected as the preferred bidder for the provision of the Cork School of Music under the Government's public private partnership pilot scheme.
The initial advertised tender for the project was for the refurbishment and rebuilding of the school and the provision of a range of facilities management to include building maintenance, cleaning, security, grounds maintenance and specialist equipment support by way of a public private partnership.
During the bidding process, the project scope changed substantially with all three final bidders independently coming to the same conclusion that a complete new building was the most appropriate solution and that the current building should not be retained. In addition, following the granting of full planning permission, an appeal was lodged to An Bord Pleanála. During the appeal process, it was not possible to progress the detailed financial, legal and operational issues until a definitive answer to the appeal was announced.
In addition, my officials are in discussions with the European Investment Bank regarding its participation that would provide for the refinancing of the project two years into the operations phase, thus reducing the overall cost. A similar arrangement with the EIB is about to be signed for the post-primary schools PPP project.
As with the schools bundle PPP project, the last of which are in the process of being handed over to my Department, final approval for the CSM will be based on an assessment of the affordability of the project in the context of the competing demands on the available capital funding envelope. I expect to be in a position to communicate with the Cork Institute of Technology regarding the CSM project in the very near future.
Denis Naughten
Ceist:112 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science the status of an application for funding by Scoil Mhuire post primary school, Strokestown, County Roscommon; if a decision has been made on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24141/02]
The position in relation to an application from the school for capital funding is that the post-primary building unit of my Department is currently examining stage 1 documentation (site suitability, briefing and site report), which was recently submitted by the school management authority. A response to this submission will issue shortly.