Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Lombard for raising this very important matter in regard to Ballinspittle National School. I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Education, who is unable to attend.

Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested in the region of €4.5 billion in schools throughout the country, involving the completion of more than 800 school building projects, with construction currently under way on approximately 300 other projects, including 31 new school buildings. The 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of more than €1.2 billion. This is a record level of investment in schools and highlights the Government's very strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for school communities. There are also approximately 90 projects currently at the tender stage, including a further 28 new school buildings. All of these new school buildings are flagship projects in their area and transform the education infrastructure for those school communities.

As part of the supplementary budget in 2023, €405 million in additional capital funding was provided for the school building programme. This helped to alleviate capital funding pressures that arose in 2023. These pressures reflect the strong delivery by the Department of Education of school building projects, including to support additional school places aligned with housing growth, special education provision, and also the accommodation of students from Ukraine in the school system. This is a significant roll-out of the school building programme that is being delivered in a challenging construction sector environment.

The Department of Education's overall capital outturn for 2023 was €1.264 billion. The major building project for Ballinspittle National School is included in the Department's construction programme, which is being delivered under the national development plan. The project brief is a completion contract for a new 12-classroom school and three classrooms for children with special educational needs and ancillary accommodation, together with all associated site works.

The invitation to tender issued in April 2023. Recent experience has demonstrated that a tender stage can take between eight and 12 months from the initial invitation to tender, subject to no issues arising. A tender report has been received from Ballinspittle board of management and the design team, and is currently under review by the Department. Following this stage, a letter of intent will be issued to the successful contractor and subsequently, there is a minimum 14-day standstill period before a letter of acceptance can be issued. Only when the letter of acceptance has issued is there a contract in place and all the contract terms and conditions apply. The due diligence by the Department is a critical part of the overall completion of the stage 3 process and is critical to ensuring quality and value for money, and that projects are progressed within overall programme parameters. It is estimated that it will take approximately 22 months to complete the Ballinspittle National School project.