Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter and providing me with the opportunity to update the House on the delivery of a new building for Naas community college. The school opened in September 2015 in temporary accommodation at Craddockstown Road, Naas. In the meantime, a project for a new building for the school, fit to house 1,000 pupils, was devolved for delivery to KWETB by the Department of Education and Skills through a service level agreement. I am pleased to inform this House that the architectural planning process for the delivery of this project is nearing completion. The design team completed the contractor pre-qualification process for the project in December 2018. Tender documents issued in May and tenders were returned in June. There was a robust tender competition, with all eight of the short-listed contractors bidding.The outcome of that process is that a preferred contractor to complete the project has been identified. A letter of intent was issued last month in that regard. A number of steps need to be taken before a letter of acceptance can be issued to the preferred contractor. The design team is carrying out these steps, which will allow for the confirmation of the appointment of that contractor. These steps are expected to be completed very shortly, and the project is still on target to begin construction on site next month. It is expected, on this basis, that the school will be ready for occupation before September 2021.

While enrolment for the 2018-2019 school year was 379, this figure is up from 266 in 2017-2018 and 163 in the previous year. Increases in intake in the coming years are expected along similar lines. In that context, KWETB, supported by the Department of Education and Skills, is taking the necessary steps to ensure that the temporary accommodation arrangements being put in place for the school will be sufficient to meet its needs until the new school building is ready. Officials from the Department of Education and Skills recently met school representatives of KWETB in respect of that matter. Approval was given at that meeting for KWETB to proceed with a revised brief for the provision of this temporary accommodation. That is being progressed as a matter of priority.

It is most regrettable that this project has not yet been delivered as a result of a number of delays. For example, as the project is being delivered on a site in an area which is earmarked for wider development, it encountered significant delays during the planning permission process. Planning permission for the project was ultimately granted in April 2017. Following the granting of planning permission, changes to the stage 2b submission were necessary to include a number of changes to areas from planning conditions and the public works contracts to alterations to the Department of Education and Skills room layouts. An understanding of the impact of these changes was a requirement for the design team to carry out a significant level of work to redo drawings, layouts and schedules. The quantity surveyor also had to revisit all the measurements and quantities relating to the bill of quantities. There were other delays caused by issues with ESB International regarding the relocation of overhead power lines traversing the site, and a consequential delay in ensuring compliance with the requirements of the nearly zero energy building regulations.