Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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391. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) will be provided with a purpose-built school on Dominick Street; the length of time since his Department first received a request for a purpose-built school for the school; the reason for the delay; the action he has taken to expedite the process to provide the teachers and pupils with a proper school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46568/17]

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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392. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount his Department has spent providing temporary accommodation for a school (details supplied) since it vacated its original premises; the reason a new purpose-built school has not been built since a site was secured on Dominick Street in 2011; the amount which has been spent since 2011 on developing a design, the planning application and other costs associated with running the existing school and while developing a purpose-built facility; the process which led to his Department increasing the proposed capacity for the school from an eight-classroom single stream school to a 16-class school; the impact the increased school size will have on the design of the school; the way it will impact on recreational outdoor space; the details of his Department's consultation with the school to determine and agree the increase from eight to 16 classrooms; the action his Department will take to accelerate the delivery of a purpose-built school building for the school on Dominick Street; and the date by which the school will occupy a new purpose-built school building on Dominick Street. [46571/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 391 and 392 together.

In 2006, my Department met with the Trustees of the school to which the Deputy refers to, to discuss the school’s long-term accommodation needs.  Given the city centre location of the school, there was considerable difficulty in sourcing a suitable site as a long term location.  In 2011, a suitable site was sourced for the permanent location of the school.  In the interim the school is currently located in rented accommodation in Parnell Square; the school receives annual funding of some €328,000 for rental of this temporary accommodation.

The original design brief for this project on this site, was for an 8 Classroom primary school and a Design Team were appointed by open competition in December 2012 to design this project.  However due to increasing demographic demands in the Drumcondra, Marino and Dublin 1 area, a recommendation was made to the Patron advising that a 16 classroom school be built on the site.  In November 2016 the Patron of the School, the Archbishop of Dublin approved this recommendation for a 16 classroom school.

My Department then engaged in discussions with the original design team regarding increased fees to progress the new 16 classroom design brief.  However my Department is constrained by EU Directives covering public procurements in the extent of a fee uplift that it can consider and the fee proposals from the original Design Team were in excess of those constraints.  This original Design Team has been paid for its completed work up to Stage 2A Detailed Design, amounting to €103,048.72.

The current brief for the project at the school to which the Deputy refers to, comprises the provision of a new 16 Classroom Primary School with a general purpose room, multi-purpose room, library and resource area, three special education tuition rooms and ancillary accommodation.  Until the detailed design is completed by the new Design Team and subsequently reviewed by my Department it is not possible to assess the impacts on specific build items such as recreational space etc.

Requests for tenders for a new Design Team to take this project from Stage 2A Detailed Design right through to construction, were published on the e-tenders website on 20 October 2017 and the closing date for prospective tenders is 29 November 2017.

This project is included on the 6 Year Programme announced on 17th November 2015.