Seanad debates

Friday, 19 December 2008

7:00 pm

Photo of Pat CareyPat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I was not aware that the issue raised by the Senator still continues to run. If the school principal in my school had not taken a hands on approach to supervising the contract when the school was being refurbished a few years ago, many issues similar to those the Deputy raised would have come to light.

I am replying to this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science. It is important to ensure that costs are kept under control in the construction of school buildings and that those responsible ensure that value for money is achieved for the taxpayer. In this way, we can ensure completion of the maximum number of projects from within the funds available to the Minister for the school building programme under the current national development plan.

In view of the large amount of activity under the school building and modernisation programme, it was prudent to improve efficiency and ensure value for money. In this regard, a number of innovations have been introduced in recent years. All school building projects are tendered on a fixed price basis. The new forms of Government contracts assist in ensuring projects are delivered within budget. All small-scale projects are delivered on a devolved basis at local school level. Programmes such as the devolved small schools and permanent accommodation schemes and the summer works scheme were introduced into the building programme in recent years in order to give schools control of their projects with a guaranteed level of funding and to maximise value for money. Granted discretion and funding, schools must equally accept responsibility for prioritisation, adherence to statutory regulations, control of costs and ensuring value for money. This use of devolved schemes allows the Department of Education and Science to make use of local knowledge and the skills of school authorities in ensuring efficient and effective delivery of projects in schools.

The Department has developed generic repeat designs to reduce the cost and speed up the delivery of new schools, particularly in developing areas. The Department has used design and build contracts to deliver very large school building projects. These contracts allow for the transfer of risk to contractors in delivery of these projects. I wonder if the Senator might pursue that avenue in his case. The Department's role is concentrated in setting the initial design parameters. Initial designs are evaluated at meetings rather than through correspondence, in order to speed up the design phase.

An extensive project for Scoil Árd Mhuire is nearing completion. The school's consultant architect provided certification relating to satisfactory progress at various stages of the works. The Department of Education and Science funded the school, which was the party to the contract, on receipt of the certification to enable payments to be made to the contractor as required, under the terms of the contract between the school and the contractor.

Officials from the Department met with the school management to discuss the situation which arose and urged the school to comply with the terms of the contract regarding payment to the contractor. I understand the school subsequently met with the consultant architect and exchanged correspondence with the contractor regarding the release of money and the completion of works on the project. The Department is in ongoing contact with the school and its architect with a view to ensuring this agreement is implemented, and that the work on the school is completed.

I thank the Senator again for giving me the opportunity of outlining the current position. I will speak with the Minister for Education and Science about the Senator's concerns so that he can try to push the matter to a successful conclusion. If there was never a problem with the public finances, value for money and good governance are a sine qua non for any spending of public money.

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