Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate my original reply. DIF is targeting all six buildings to be operational for the beginning of the coming school year, with the most advanced schools to be delivered earlier in the summer. The fund, not the Department, is receiving the tenders and it expects to receive final bids from the tenderers with whom it has had extensive engagement by early April. DIF is handling the tenders but we are keeping a close eye on this through the NDFA and the Department. We regularly meet DIF representatives. The fund is receiving and adjudicating on the tenders, not the Department. Breaching those arrangements would expose the State. It is only on the handover of the schools that the State will begin to make payments. That provides protection and ensures that the pressure is on DIF to meet the timeline.

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