Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 171: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when a final contract for a school (details supplied) in County Laois will be signed and planning permission sought on the project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12518/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The schools referred to by the Deputy are two of four schools that make up the First Bundle of the Department's current Public Private Partnership Programme.

This bundle consists of two new schools in Portlaoise, Co. Laois and two new schools in Co. Offaly. The two schools in Portlaoise will be built on the one site — St. Mary's CBS, and Scoil Chríost Rí and the two schools in Co. Offaly comprise a new community school and a new community college.

Macquarie Partnership for Ireland (MPFI) were selected as the preferred tenderer for the provision of this Bundle in October 2007. Negotiations between the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), who are responsible for the procurement of the schools, and MPFI have been ongoing since that date are now well advanced. Until these negotiations are complete and the formal contract signed it will not be possible to provide a final date for the completion of construction for these schools.

At this point in the negotiations I can inform the Deputy that assuming a successful conclusion to these negotiations MPFI will be in a position to submit planning applications for all four schools to the relevant local authorities, and the contract will be ready for signing on receipt of planning permission. Subject to the outcome of the planning process with the relevant authorities, construction of the four schools is expected to start in the summer and it is anticipated that they will be available before the end of 2009.