Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of all school building projects which have not been delivered successfully on the part of the contractor in the past five years; the number of cases in which an unfinished school building project had to be re-tendered; the financial loss, if any, incurred by his Department because of such uncompleted building works in each year; the cost to his Department of re-tendering and completing the works in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43270/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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In the last five years ten major school building projects encountered difficulties which resulted in a tender competition for a replacement contractor. The difficulties encountered on nine of these projects related to contractor insolvencies. The termination of the contractor's obligation to complete the works on the tenth project was due to the contractor's default.

There is a bond in place for each of the ten projects. The bond is used to cover costs that would otherwise accrue to the Employer (i.e. the Department, School, VEC etc.) on foot of a contractor's failure to complete the works. As such the Employer's financial exposure is generally minimal. Negotiations are ongoing with regard to a number of these projects and in some cases the full cost of re-tendering and completion of the works is not yet known. The Deputy will appreciate that it is not possible to release commercially sensitive cost information which is currently the subject of negotiations. To do so would undermine the Department's position with regard to such negotiations.

For the Deputy's convenience I have set out details of the ten projects.