Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government acknowledges that significant Exchequer resources will be invested in capital spending in the education sector yet issues surrounding these publicly procured projects show a series of errors. Following the collapse of Carillion and Sammon there remains a myriad of outstanding issues relating to school building projects including in my constituency. As we discussed earlier, we now learn that there are significant structural and safety concerns relating to 40 schools built by Western Building Systems over the last ten years. Three schools have already faced closure and there is no clear plan from the Department on alternative accommodation.

Does the Taoiseach agree that this latest debacle reflects a significant and unprecedented failure in Government procurement and regulatory frameworks? Will he clarify what specific actions the Minister for Education and Skills has taken or will take to ensure appropriate alternative accommodation is provided for the pupils and teachers affected by this?

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