Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, over the course of the mid-term break my Department undertook structural assessments on all 42 school buildings constructed by Western Building Systems since 2003, following the identification of significant structural issues at Ardgillan community college in Balbriggan during an assessment undertaken by a structural engineer at the school on 19 October.  The safety of school students and staff has been and will continue to be my Department's overriding priority.

I would like to acknowledge the impact this has had on students, parents, school principals, staff, patrons and boards of management of all 42 schools, in particular the 23 schools where precautionary measures where carried out. I would also like to thank all concerned for their patience and understanding over the last several weeks.

My Department will now be moving as quickly as possible to the next phase, which is to initiate more detailed structural investigations at the 42 schools and, following on from this, to implement the permanent remediation works required.  The Department fully intends to pursue the company through all contractual and legal channels for the cost of the precautionary measures and the remediation work.

It is also my intention to initiate an independent review of the Department’s design and build programme, including aspects such as procurement, quality control, workmanship and oversight, both before and after implementation of the amended building control regulations in 2014.  This will also involve the role and responsibilities of clerks of works, project managers, architects, designers and other professionals.  This will be an independent review conducted by a person or entity outside the Department and will be informed by the more detailed structural investigations to be carried out in the next phase of the programme.

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