John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of school building contracts that have been stopped due to the main contractor going out of business; the total value of each contract; the cost of the work to be completed on each site; the amount paid to the contractor in each case; the number of sub contractors affected on each site; the status of the work and plans to complete each project; if he intends to review the type of contract used; if the same contract was used in each case; if a school (details supplied) in County Kilkenny will be completed under the existing contract or if there will be a new tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51531/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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In the last five years a total of nine major school building projects have been terminated due to an insolvency event involving the main contractor. Two other major school building projects have been terminated due to a contractor's default for reasons other than insolvency. Five of these projects were subsequently completed and handed over to the school authorities, four are currently being completed by completion contractors and the remaining two projects are in the process of procuring a completion contractor to complete the works. Please see the attached document for details of the eleven projects.

The original value of the eleven projects was circa €44m. There is a bond in place for each of the eleven 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 or tender competitions. To do so would undermine the Employer's position with regard to such negotiations.

The contract used for the construction of major school projects is the Public Works Contract. This contract was developed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and is used across the State Sector for all capital works. With regard to the project in Kilkenny, the Deputy will be aware that the contractor's obligation to complete the works was recently terminated. Therefore it is not legally possible to complete the project under the existing contract.

My Department does not hold details of sub-contractors engaged on major school building projects. A school building project is a complex arrangement of contractual relationships between the client, the main contractor, specialist sub-contractors, domestic sub-contractors, suppliers of materials, suppliers of plant etc. In general all sub-contractors employed on school building projects are employed directly by the Main Contractor or indirectly by the Main Contractor through other sub-contractors.

Details of Major School Building Projects where the Contractor’s obligation to complete the works was terminated (2008 to 2012)