Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I will outline to the Seanad the current position in respect of pyrite remediation at St. Patrick's National School in Diswellstown, Dublin 15, and the purchase of the adjacent field to accommodate remediation works and expansion of the school.

St. Patrick's National School in Diswellstown was constructed under a design-and-build contract with the Department of Education as the direct employer. As the Senator will know, the school was completed in 2006. In March 2010 the Department engaged a firm of structural engineers with specialist expertise to report on the presence of pyrite in the building. The engineers' report confirmed the presence of pyrite and recommended total removal of the hardcore infill from all areas of the building and surrounding external areas to achieve a permanent remediation.

The Department sought legal advice as to how to proceed with the remedial works and how to take a legal case, if required. Following advice from the Chief State Solicitor's office, a number of steps have been undertaken. In January 2012 the Department requested that the Chief State Solicitor's office initiate legal proceedings against the main contractor and the infill sub-contractor supplier immediately. Plenary summonses issued against both in March 2013. In early 2014 the Department engaged a design team to scope the extent of the works necessary to remove the pyrite at St. Patrick's. Planning permission was also obtained for the temporary accommodation that would be required for the school to decant on a phased basis while remedial works were being undertaken. In early 2014 the Department commenced the process of tendering for contractors to carry out the remediation works on the school. However, one of the companies that expressed an interest in carrying out the work was the original contractor on the project.Following consultation with the Chief State Solicitor's office, it became clear that it would not be feasible to invite tenders from a contractor, against which the Department was also pursuing a legal action. As a result, the project did not proceed to tender at that time. Also in 2014, progression of the Department's legal case became dependent upon another legal case involving the infill subcontractor. In early 2015, the Supreme Court referred matters relating to this other case to the European Court of Justice. This effectively suspended the legal action against the two contractors involved on St. Patrick's National School. The matter was resolved in 2019 with a referral back to the Supreme Court and the Chief State Solicitor's office advised that the Department's legal case could proceed. A meeting between officials from the office and the Department took place in July 2019. The Chief State Solicitor's office recommended going to mediation with the contractor in an attempt to reach an agreed settlement. This resulted in an exchange of legal correspondence between the parties. A meeting was held between the Department officials and the Chief State Solicitor's office on 17 November 2020, where it was agreed that the mediation process should proceed. The Chief State Solicitor's office advises that mediation can be speedy and flexible but requires co-operation from all parties. If this is proving difficult to achieve, the Department will instruct the Chief State Solicitor's office to set the case down for trial and will again consider progressing the remediation works in parallel with the legal proceedings.

In regard to the proposed purchase of the field adjacent to the site, officials in the Department are working closely with officials from Fingal County Council under the memorandum of understanding on the acquisition of the adjacent field to accommodate remediation works and the expansion of St. Patrick's National School in Diswellstown. I can confirm that discussions are ongoing with the landowner with a view to acquiring this site. Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally, I am not in a position to provide further details at this time.

I confirm to the Senator that the Department is working closely with the Chief State Solicitor's office with a view to getting the legal situation sorted out in order to get the pyrite problem at the school rectified as quickly as possible.