Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 10 Apr 2003

Vol. 565 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Schools of Music.

Mr. Stanton

I am glad the Minister for Education and Science is in the House to deal with this matter. It is a month since I raised this issue by way of a parliamentary question, but it seems that there is some confusion between the Minister and his colleague, the Minister for Finance. The Minister for Education and Science should tell us exactly where the matter stands; the people of Cork city and county deserve no less. They need to know if this project has any chance of getting off the ground in the short-term. The Minister knows the matter is urgent because Cork has been selected as the European City of Culture in 2005. Everything is ready to proceed with the construction of the new school of music, but the Minister has not given the go ahead for it. I hope he will be able to do so this evening.

The new school of music was going to be the jewel in the crown of Cork, with all of Europe focusing on its role as the City of Culture in 2005. The Minister understands the importance of music in cultural terms. If the school of music is not allowed to proceed, it will be a terrible embarrassment for the city, the county and the country in general. Damage is being done to Cork's fantastic musical tradition. The Minister is aware that for many decades the school of music in Cork has been at the forefront of musical innovation in the city and many thousands of students have passed through it.

However, a major problem appears to have arisen. Eurostat and the Central Statistics Office have both been quoted and there have been difficulties concerning a public private partnership. The Minister's colleagues in Cork, like Opposition Members, have been working hard on this matter. At this stage, however, we desperately need urgent clarification of the position.

Music students and staff are currently operating all over Cork in temporary accommodation, including hotels. It is difficult to learn music in such conditions, which cannot continue for much longer. A Government decision is required, but if that cannot be taken we should be told why it cannot be done at this time. What is the difficulty? I am pleading with the Minister to provide some clarity by telling us what is happening. What are his plans and can he see the new music school project proceeding within the coming months or at all? Will he have to commence the entire procedure from scratch?

I understand that the developer has already spent up to €12 million in bringing the project to this stage. As the Minister told me when I raised this matter a month ago, that money may be lost to the State which will have nothing to show for it. I wish to support the Minister if he can allow the project to go ahead. He should work with his Government colleagues and move heaven and earth to get it going. It is really urgent.

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I acknowledge the fact that he and his colleagues, including all Government and Opposition Deputies in Cork – in addition to a number of organisations – have raised this matter consistently. I understand their concerns.

The Deputy is aware that the new Cork school of music is a constituent part of the Cork Institute of Technology and was to be procured under a public private partnership model. The Cork school of music provides training in a wide range of musical instruments, musical theory, speech and drama. It caters for first, second, third and fourth level students, whether they are amateur musicians, music teachers or performers. As the Deputy said, it has a central place not only in the educational but in the cultural life of Cork.

With regard to the history of the project, it was advertised for tender on a European wide basis in June 2000. Following the project launch in July 2000, 12 consortia expressed interest in bidding for it. Following the presentation of outline proposals the number of bidders was eventually reduced to three. These bidders were invited to negotiate in November 2000. The consortia bids were submitted in February 2001, all of which were subject to detailed evaluation under design and construction, services, financial and legal headings by officials of my Department together with specialist advisers. Jarvis Projects Limited was selected as the preferred bidder for the project. There then followed a long period of intense negotiations with Jarvis with a view to reaching a financial close to the project. During that period Jarvis, under the terms of the project, sought and received planning permission for the project from the city council. All would have been well and we would have been well on the way to the building of this project had An Taisce not submitted a planning appeal to An Bord Pleanála against the grant of permission. During the period of the appeal, work on the project had to be suspended and was only resumed after An Bord Pleanála rejected the appeal and granted planning permission for the development on 24 December 2001. However, other difficulties arose.

The Deputy asked me to clarify the current position. Under EU rules, as they stand, where projects are financed on a deferred payment basis by the private sector the capital value of such projects is a charge on the general Government balance, GGB, over the construction phase. That is the rule the EU and EUROSTAT have applied in relation to the five second level schools that we built. They have been taken into account in the GGB. We have no reason to believe and we have had no indication to the contrary but that the EU will deal with this project in the same way. As the Deputy is aware, the GGB is the critical measure of what can be accommodated within our obligations under the Stability and Growth Pact of the Maastricht Treaty. A EUROSTAT group is currently reviewing the accounting rules on this issue as will a standing committee established recently by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, to advise on the GGB implications of private sector financed projects.

I do not accept the rules as they stand or as they are being interpreted, but it is not up to me to say that. If this project was given the go ahead, I would have to find €60 million within my capital budget, but I do not have that kind of money at the moment. I can assure the Deputy that I, the Minister for Finance and other Ministers concerned directly in PPPs are trying, through our own committee and the EUROSTAT group, to have the consideration of PPPs dealt with differently because we believe they should be. Until that is completed the project will have to wait. It will have to be considered in light of the outcome of the deliberations of that committee and in the context of the competing demands on capital funding envelopes going forward.