Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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14. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps that will be taken to ensure that there are no further unnecessary delays in the expected timescale for the construction and completion of phase two of a college (details supplied). [31725/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The project to which the Deputy refers will provide permanent accommodation to cater for the full projected enrolment of 1000 pupils including a Special Needs Unit, a Sports Hall with fitness suite and changing facilities and ancillary accommodation and a school library.

My Department approved the project to proceed to Tender Stage in October 2016. Pre-qualification of contractors for this project had first been conducted by the design team in April 2015. Due to the passage of time since then the design team was concerned about the possibility of legal challenges at tender stage and sought advice from the Office of Government Procurement on the matter. The advice was that it would be prudent to run the pre-qualification process again. My Department concurred with this advice and requested the Design Team to conduct a second pre-qualification process.

The pre-qualification process was concluded earlier this month and Invitations to Tender issued to 6 qualified contractors on 9 June 2017. As a result of a technical issue which has emerged in recent days, relating to holidays in Northern Ireland and the fact that 4 of the 6 preferred tenderers are based in Northern Ireland, the deadline for return of tenders will be extended by two weeks to 28 July.

However, this will result in no change to the overall target for delivery of this project as the design team will be instructed to make up this two weeks in the period of processing and assessing the tender.

Subject to no further issues arising it is now anticipated that construction will commence in late 2017 and the project is, as previously advised, expected to take approximately 18 months to complete.