Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she is in discussion with any private companies with regard to the provision of new school buildings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7860/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As a general point, both my Department and the Office of Public Works, which acts on my Department's behalf in site acquisitions, may deal with private companies in the acquisition of land. With regard to those building projects where the Minister is formally the client, as distinct from the school board of management, my Department engages directly with firms for architectural, engineering and quantity surveying services and the awarding of construction contracts. However, the school management authority is the client in the vast majority of school building projects as schools are not typically owned by the State.

From time to time officials in my Department's planning and building unit receive proposals generally through schools, but occasionally directly, from private companies regarding the provision of either sites for schools or new school buildings. These proposals are typically from developers who may also be in discussions with local authorities regarding applications for planning permission for housing developments. There are a number of such proposals at various stages of discussion at present. However, none of these discussions is finalised and for reasons of commercial sensitivity I am not in a position to elaborate further at this point.

I can say, however, that most of these proposals involve funding from the State. In considering such proposals my Department first assesses whether they provide value for money for the taxpayer. This is done by way of benchmarking the cost of the proposal against standard costings for new schools or sites as appropriate.

Two other key issues also arise in considering such proposals. The first relates to the priority of the school building project and the band rating assigned to it in accordance with my Department's published criteria. Proposals that involve projects with a high band rating receive priority treatment by my Department compared to those with a lower band rating. The second issue is that any proposal must fully comply with public procurement requirements. The procurement rules ensure that State funded projects must be delivered in a transparent way that ensures an open and fair tender competition. Furthermore, the successful contractor must comply with tax, insurance and other requirements.