Written answers

Thursday, 5 March 2020

Department of Education and Skills

Schools Building Projects Status

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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227. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new school building project for a school (details supplied); if the acquisition of a new site for the school has been completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3027/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware the building project for the school in question is included on my Department's capital programme.

The acquisition of a site for this school is at an advanced stage in the conveyancing process and my officials are working to bring it to conclusion at the earliest possible date. Due to the commercially sensitive nature of site acquisitions, it is not possible to comment further at this time. 

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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228. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the refurbishment and provision of an extension for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3028/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan.

This project is one of the school building projects on my Department’s ADAPT 2 (Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning & Tendering) Programme. My Department has completed the process of appointing a Project Manager for the ADAPT 2 Programme, which currently contains 18 school building projects.

The appointment of a Design Team (Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Civil & Structural Engineer, Mechanical & Electrical Engineer and Project Supervisor for the Design Process) for the school in question has been completed.

The Department held a briefing session along with the Project Manager, the School and Design Team on January 15th 2020. The Design Team is currently working on Stage 1 of Architectural Planning which includes Site Report, Site Suitability and producing Initial Sketch Schemes.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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229. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the start date for prefab replacement for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3029/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan.

This project is one of the school building projects on my Department’s ADAPT 2 (Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning & Tendering) Programme. My Department has completed the process of appointing a Project Manager for the ADAPT 2 Programme, which currently contains 18 school building projects.

The appointment of a Design Team (Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Civil & Structural Engineer, Mechanical & Electrical Engineer and Project Supervisor for the Design Process) for the school in question has been completed. 

The Department held a briefing session along with the Project Manager, the School and Design Team on January 15th 2020. The Design Team is currently working on Stage 1 of Architectural Planning which includes Site Report, Site Suitability and producing Initial Sketch Schemes.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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230. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress of the delivery of a new school building for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3030/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The building project for the school referred to by the deputy is included in My Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan.

This project is one of the school building projects on my Department’s ADAPT 2 (Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning & Tendering) Programme. My Department has completed the process of appointing a Project Manager for the ADAPT 2 Programme. A Request for Tender to appoint a Design Team – (Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Civil & Structural Engineer, Mechanical & Electrical Engineer and Project Supervisor for the Design Process) is live on , with a closing date for tender return of 6th March 2020 at 5pm.

Once appointed the Design Team will commence work on Stage 1 of Architectural Planning – Site Suitability, Site Repot & Initial Sketch Scheme.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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231. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding progress on a permanent school building project for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3031/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in the Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan.

The project is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. Statutory approvals in relation to the permanent new school build have been secured.

Following the appointment of a replacement consultant architect, the Design Team has reviewed the previous Stage 2(b) documentation and is currently upgrading the design to ensure that the new school building is a Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB) in compliance with the 2017 amendment to Part L of the Building Regulations.

The Design Team is also finalising the detail in relation to the provision of temporary accommodation and playground facilities during the construction of the new school building. Statutory approvals in relation to these are currently being prepared by the Design Team.

Upon receipt and review of the Stage 2(b) submission, my Department will revert to the Board of Management regarding the further progression of the project at that time.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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232. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Swords area of County Dublin, as announced in November 2015; if locations for the proposed school have been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3032/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to advise the Deputy that planning permission has been secured for a Post-Primary school (Swords Community College RN 76475D) on a site in North Swords (Mooretown) 

A building contractor has been appointed and construction commenced in April 2019 with an anticipated date for completion of Quarter 2 2020.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of new secondary schools for the Malahide and Portmarnock areas of County Dublin as announced in November 2015; if locations for the proposed schools have been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3033/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to advise the Deputy that planning permission has been secured for a Post-Primary school (Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together Secondary School) at a site in Drinan Swords.

The new post primary school is being delivered under my Department's Design & Build programme and forms part of a bundle of projects for which the procurement process (and the associated tendering to short-listed contractors) has commenced and will be ongoing during Q1 2020. 

It is anticipated that construction of this school building project will commence in Q2 2020.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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234. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a permanent site for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3034/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the building project for the school in question is included in my Department's capital programme.

Officials in my Department are progressing the acquisition of a suitable site where the school will be permanently accommodated.

While a site acquisition process is underway, given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to comment further at this time.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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235. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding progress on a new school building project for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3035/20]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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236. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new site for a school (details supplied) as announced in November 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3036/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 235 and 236 together.

The Deputy will be aware that a building project for the schools in question is included on the Department's Capital Programme to be delivered as part of the National Development Plan (NDP).

A new site is required to facilitate this development and my Department has recently reached an agreement in principle with the landowners for the acquisition of a site. The site will be masterplanned to accommodate both schools.

In tandem with the site acquisition, my Department is finalising the accommodation briefs for the schools and will be in contact with the relevant school authorities when this process has been completed.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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237. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to ensure the works to provide a new school building for a school (details supplied) in addition to the associated refurbishment works commence as a matter of urgent priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3037/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in My Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan.  

This project is one of the school building projects on my Department’s ADAPT 2 Programme. My Department completed the process of procuring a Project Manager for the ADAPT 2 Programme, which contains 18 school building projects, in July 2019.

The appointment of a Design Team – (Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Civil & Structural Engineer, Mechanical & Electrical Engineer and Project Supervisor for the Design Process) for the school in question was finalised in November 2019. The appointed Design Team has commenced work on Stage 1 (Site Suitability, Site Report, Initial Sketch Scheme) of Architectural planning. A number of surveys have been approved by the Department and are currently being carried out at the school site.

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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238. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a new school building for a school (details supplied); the stage the project is at; when construction will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3038/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in the Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan.

The project is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been secured.

Following the appointment of a replacement consultant architect, the Design Team has reviewed the previous Stage 2(b) documentation and upgraded the design to ensure that the new school building is a Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB) in compliance with the 2017 amendment to Part L of the current Building Regulations.

A revised Stage 2(b) report was submitted to the Department for review in November 2019. Upon commencement of the review the Department needed to request further documentation from the Design Team in order that the report could be fully reviewed. The Design Team is currently working on this outstanding documentation.

Upon receipt of the outstanding documentation and completion of the review of the revised Stage 2(b) report my Department will be in contact with the school regarding the further progression of this project.

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