John McGuinness
Ceist:275. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of school bundle 5; the completion date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12877/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 20 March 2018
Ceisteanna (275)
Freagraí scríofa
On 14 March last, officials from my Department and the National Development Finance Agency, along with representatives of each of the six schools included in the Schools Bundle 5 PPP Programme, met with the Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF). At that meeting, DIF, representing Inspiredspaces (the PPP Company responsible for Bundle 5), provided an update on its plan for the delivery and operation of the six facilities following the liquidation of Carillion.
The update provided by DIF indicated that, as a consequence of the Carillion liquidation, the construction and facilities management agreements have been terminated and are required to be replaced. A number of contractors/service providers have now been invited to quote for finishing the works and for the provision of facilities management services over the 25-year life of the PPP project. DIF expects to receive final bids from tenderers, with whom it has already had extensive engagement, by 5 April.
Based on this, and the expected timeframe for the evaluation of tenders, and appointment and mobilisation of the new contractor/service providers, DIF is targeting all six buildings to be operational for the beginning of the coming school year, with the most advanced schools ready earlier in the summer.
DIF has confirmed that, in conjunction with its lenders, it will deploy all necessary resources towards achieving these targets for delivery and operation of the schools and further education college.