Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas as ucht chuireadh an Chathaoirligh go dtí an coiste seo inniu. Tá an t-ábhar seo iontach tábhachtach. Táim ag dúil go mór leis an díospóireacht le baill den choiste. I appreciate the opportunity to update the committee today on the structural assessments undertaken in 42 schools constructed by Western Building Systems and the next steps to be taken by the Department of Education and Skills. I am joined by the head of the planning and building division, Mr. Hubert Loftus. I thank the Chair and the members of the committee for their help and positive suggestions throughout this process.

We have tried to keep the members of the committee informed and have been in regular contact with the clerk and members. We also invited members to a briefing last week in Tullamore, where the Department's management of this challenging situation was co-ordinated. Three Department teams focused on operations, communications and interim accommodation. They worked intensively over the past two weeks to co-ordinate the full programme of structural assessments and the implementation of precautionary measures. They also worked to provide support to schools as required in respect of interim accommodation needs and to ensure progress was communicated to schools and the public.

Getting to where we are today has only been possible thanks to the collective efforts of parents, school principals, patrons, boards of management and Department officials as well as the project managers, structural engineers and contractors who pulled out all the stops to facilitate the reopening of schools this week. I acknowledge the disruption and inconvenience caused to pupils and parents over the last number of weeks and the impact this has had on parents' life and work. I am conscious that there has been a particularly heavy burden on school principals. They have been dealing with the operational impacts of the assessments and related precautionary measures. I thank them in particular for their ongoing co-operation.

The outcome of all 42 structural assessments, including the full list of schools requiring precautionary measures, was published on 1 November. The summary of the current situation is as follows. There were 19 schools fully cleared to open this week without any precautionary works. A further 19 schools were enabled to open in full following external precautionary measures in the form of a fence around a building, or part of a building, and protective decking at all entrances and exits. Three schools, two in Tyrrelstown and one in Lucan, are being enabled to open, initially at ground floor level only, following the implementation of both internal engineering solutions and external precautionary measures.

Following a meeting between Department officials and school authorities in Tyrrelstown yesterday, additional work is continuing to address some of the operational impacts of the precautionary measures and other logistical issues such as traffic management. All parties are working towards the reopening of the Tyrrelstown school, initially at ground floor level only with other classes accommodated off-site. Finally, one building on this list, phase one of Ardgillan community college, remains closed. Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, ETB, has made arrangements for the displaced classes to be accommodated, including through the use of a shared community centre and facilities at another school.

It is important to underline our priority over the mid-term break was to ensure that the structural assessments were conducted and any precautionary measures implemented to ensure safe occupancy this week. We will be moving as quickly as possible to the next phase. That is to initiate more detailed structural investigations at all the 42 schools and, following on from that, to implement the permanent remediation works required. We cannot give a precise timeframe at this time for the duration of precautionary measures or the implementation of permanent works.

That will depend on the outcome of the next phase of the investigations. Every effort, however, will be made to keep the duration of temporary measures to a minimum. We fully intend to pursue Western Building Systems through all contractual and legal channels for the cost of the precautionary measures and the remediation work, where required. It is also our intention, at the appropriate time, to initiative a programme-level review of the Department's design and build programme to include aspects such as procurement, quality control, workmanship and oversight. The review will look at aspects both pre- and post-implementation of the amended building control regulations in 2014. The results of the more detailed structural assessments at Western Building Systems' constructed schools will be necessary to inform this review. I am happy to take questions or listen to comments.