Dáil debates

Tuesday, 17 April 2018

Topical Issue Debate

Schools Building Projects Status

6:10 pm

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for selecting this matter which is important to my constituency. I am glad the Minister is here to take the issue. The Minister will no doubt be aware of the shock, disappointment and anger expressed by pupils, staff, parents and the entire community in Croom in Limerick following the news that Sammon contracting group, which it has been reported submitted the lowest tender for the construction of the long-awaited new secondary school building, has been place into examinership. The decision of the High Court to appoint an examiner has thrown the process into a state of flux.

The Minister will be aware that the process of building a new secondary school in Croom has been dogged by many disappointments, much controversy and a huge amount of delay. It has been going on since the early 2000s. We have had issues with site suitability, the size of the school and with planning permission which had to be obtained on at least three occasions having been allowed to lapse. It had to go to An Bord Pleanála. We have also had issues with the access road.

There was finally some light beginning to appear at the end of the tunnel and there was a little bit of hope it might pass through the tender stage and a contractor would be appointed. I inquired about the status from the local education and training board, the Limerick and Clare ETB, which is the patron, and we were promised construction would commence well before now. We are where we are.

It would be worthwhile for the Minister to take the opportunity, if it ever presents itself, to visit the facility which operates as a secondary school. My colleague, Deputy Neville, who is present in the Chamber, knows all too well that it is substandard, which is to put it mildly. The pupils and staff have to operate in prefabricated buildings, many of which are years old and so substandard it beggars belief that they would meet any safety standards or pass any inspection.

My purpose in raising this matter is to keep the pressure on the Minister and the Department to bring a positive note to the mood surrounding it because the community in Croom and the community the school serves are very worried. Some feel it will never go ahead. The Minister needs to knock that on the head and make clear that he is determined to see this project through and ensure that the new school building, which was promised 16 or 17 years ago, will be delivered.

In time the Department of Education and Skills will see this as a case study in how not to build a new school. Can the Minister give us the update on the tender process today? Has the Sammon Group formally withdrawn from the tender process, which is the stated desire of everybody involved, including the education and training board, ETB? Can he update us on any discussions he or the Department has had with the Sammon Group or the building unit? What will be the timeline for delivery of the new school building?

6:20 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which I know is of concern to many Deputies. He is right that there has been a difficult development process for this project. The original decision was devolved to the ETB to run the project. A service level agreement was put in place. A planning application was submitted and granted in April 2014 but that was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by a third party and the board overturned the grant of planning permission. I do not know the background to that but planning difficulties are not unknown in project development.

Following further consultation a new application was lodged and planning permission was received in January 2017. Limerick County Council approached the ETB to ask it to consider an alternative access route to the school site. As part of the planning permission granted access to the school site was to be achieved by upgrading an existing road. The alternative route proposed by the local authority involved the development of a new road off a distributor road, which would open up contiguous lands for development. As the Department had no difficulty in principle with the local authority's proposal it mandated the ETB to make a capped offer of a capital contribution to the cost of the new road, equivalent to what it would cost to upgrade the existing road in accordance with the planning permission granted. Following some period of consideration of the offer by the local authority and correspondence between it and the ETB, the Department's offer was accepted. To facilitate access to the school from the proposed new road the design team had to make some adjustments to the layout of the new school site to place the entrance at a different point in the site.

The ETB and its design team submitted a stage 2B submission for the project incorporating the requisite design changes to the Department towards the end of last year. A stage 2B submission provides a detailed cost plan for the project prior to going to tender. The Department approved this and the project went to tender. When the tender process was completed the ETB filed a tender report with the Department as required and this is being evaluated. Once this evaluation has been completed the project will be allowed to proceed to the award of a contract and construction. I expect that it should happen within the coming weeks. The contract duration will be 17 months.

The tender process is confidential and I am not at liberty, nor is the ETB, to talk about those who have succeeded or not in their tender application. The Department appreciates that the school is anxious to see the project getting to site as soon as possible, particularly after the difficult passage through the planning stages. The construction stage is fast approaching and I look forward to the Department's being able to give the go-ahead for that shortly.

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister mentioned the access road, which we are well aware of, but that is no longer an issue. The problem now is that it has been reported quite widely that the company which is lowest in the tender process and was about to be given the contract has been placed in examinership. It is being said that the next step will be to ask that company to remove itself from the process to allow the Department and the ETB to engage with whoever is next in line in the tender process. This is the crux of the matter. We have to get over this hurdle as quickly as possible.

The media reports on the appointment of a contractor to the Sammon Group stated that other parties offered support to the Sammon Group as part of the examinership proposal to the High Court. Suffice to say that is going on at one level while at ground level we have to deal with the reality that pupils have to try to learn, and teachers and managers have to try to operate, in exceptionally sub-standard conditions. Will the Minister state that he realises how long this has dragged on and commit to prioritising it within the Department's building unit in Tullamore? It has dragged on for too long on many levels. On behalf of the community and the parents' association of Coláiste Chiaráin I invite the Minister to visit the school when he is next in the area. It will make a lasting impression on him to see the conditions the pupils and staff have to work in.

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I understand what the Deputy is saying and I have indicated in my reply that this is regarded as a priority project. We recognise the difficulties, such as the planning appeal, the lay out of the road and so on. Equally, the Deputy will understand that I cannot compromise a tender process. This is a commercially confidential process and there are very strict procedures for the award of public contracts, how those who are successful and those who are not should be notified as the process goes forward, and bidders can challenge a tender outcome before a contract is signed. I have to be aware of that. In the event that any company in an examinership is a bidder in this project that would be taken into account under the legal procedures that apply. The matter of who is involved, who is successful and what procedures will occur is commercially confidential and I have to respect that confidentiality. The Deputy would appreciate the concern that some disruption to the tender process would be the cause of further delay. He would be the first to point the finger at the failure to respect the terms of a tender. I regret that is all I can say to the Deputy at this point but I understand that it is a priority for the school community, and I understand the frustration it has suffered.

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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In the absence of a Minister to take the second matter, the plan for the future of Abbeyleix hospital, we will suspend for five minutes.

Sitting suspended at 5.40 p.m. and resumed at 5.45 p.m.