Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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104. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a school building project (details supplied); the remaining steps in the process that must be undertaken in order for grant approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24359/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The major building project for the school referred to by the deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2b (Detailed Design).  The Stage 2(b) submission has been reviewed by my Department and comments have issued to the school and its Design Team.

The Design Team is currently working on a submission to my Department outlining the steps required to achieve compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations 2017 (NZEB "Near Zero Energy Building").  This is a new requirement arising from the introduction of Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Energy) of the Building Regulations to ensure compliance with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). 

When the NZEB submission has been received, my Department at that point will consider authorising this project to commence the pre-qualification process to create a shortlist of contractors to which the project will be tendered.

Pre-qualification normally takes between 8 and 12 weeks to complete.