Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the due diligence carried out to assess the solvency of main contractors prior to awarding them contracts to construct school building projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42115/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department conducts a number of checks to assess the solvency of main contractors prior to the award of a contract on any school building project. These measures are set out in "Section 3: Assessment Criteria" of the Department's QW1 Suitability Assessment Questionnaire and Declaration, which draws from suitability assessment advice provided in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Capital Works Management Framework.

My Department requests evidence of economic and financial standing criteria in relation to:

- Turnover for the last 3 years

- Banker's Letter in respect of lending facilities and on demand/overdraft facilities

- Professional Indemnity Insurance

- Public Liability Insurance to a minumum level of €6.5m

- Employer's Liability Insurance to a minimum level of €13m

Furthermore, before appointment the contractor will be required to produce evidence of a Performance Bond to the value of 10-12.5% of the contract sum for a duration of cover of 450 days after substantial completion of the project.

All school building projects valued at €20m or above must also be referred to the NDFA for advice in terms of the options for financing and procuring the projects. For these high value projects, the NDFA also conducts financial robustness checks on the prospective building contractor. This involves a detailed financial review of the contractor's audited financial statements and assessment of the contractor's key financial performance metrics including turnover, gearing, liquidity and profitability.