Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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392. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the precise architectural planning stages and current stage for each school building project in County Mayo under the School Building Programme from 2016 to 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11330/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The current status of all projects, including those in Mayo, are listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie/en/service/c5b56b-major-projects/ and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.

The description of architectural planning Stages 1-5 of Large Scale Projects and Additional Accommodation projects are set out below.

Large Scale Projects

At present, there are five stages of architectural planning involved in the delivery of major school projects. The stages reflect the Capital Works Management Framework developed by the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform.

The stages are as follows:

Stage 1 – Preliminary Design.The Preliminary Design stage includes reviewing all information provided as part of the Project Brief. Establishing and analysing all site factors and constraints which may impact on the projects viability.

Stage 2- Design (which is divided into Stage 2a - Developed Sketch Scheme and Stage 2b - Detailed Design)

The Stage 2a includes development of the design and accurately cost plan the options agreed with the Client to a stage where the project is fully cost planned and can be prepared to lodge for statutory approvals.

The Stage 2b includes obtaining all statutory approvals, preparing a set of fully detailed Tender documents, and preparing an accurate pre-tender cost plan. During the planning application, Requests for Further Information (RFI) from the Local Authority and possible third party appeals to An Bord Pleanála can considerably lengthen the process.

Stage 3 - Tender Action, Evaluation and Award.On the completion of the examination of tenders, written authorisation of the Department must be obtained before issuing Letter of Intent and Letter of Acceptance. Once all the contract pre-conditions in the letter of intent have been met and the Department has given written authorisation to proceed to Contract, a letter of Acceptance can be issued. This forms the contract and is the contract and is the date for the calculation of the Contract period.

Stage 4 – Construction.All members of the Design Team are collectively responsible for the effective management of the project in order to achieve its completion on time and within budget.

Stage 5 - Handover of Works and Final Account.The Design team individually and collectively are required to effectively manage the Project, with the co-operation of the Contractor achieve a satisfactory standard of Construction, and achieve Substantial Completion of all elements of the Projects by the Contract Section/Phase handover dates and overall Contract Completion Date.

The period of time it takes to progress through each of these stages varies from project to project depending on its size and complexity. Design Teams are appointed to progress major projects through the stages of architectural planning. In normal circumstances once a Design Team has been appointed, the project should be progressed expeditiously to the completion of Stage 2b i.e. the preparation of Tender Documents. The responsibility for the progression of the project from Stage to Stage (in accordance with the Project Brief and the Department's Design Guidelines) rests with the Design Team in agreement with the client, subject to the project timelines and the availability of funding.

Additional Accommodation Projects:

Stages are the same for ASA projects and Large Scale projects. However, depending on the size and scale of the project there may be fewer interactions with the Department than with the large-scale projects. In the case of smaller ASA projects (generally less than €3.5m in value),there is onlyone report to be provided during the design stages, and this is called the Combined Stage 1/2A report.

My Department's Planning and Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2023 in the context of its available funding. My Department's published NDP allocation for 2023 is €860 million. High construction inflation remains a continuing feature of the construction sector for 2023. As part of its planning ahead for 2023, my Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in relation to capital funding pressures in order to continue to be able to adequately support the operation of the school system with rollout of school building projects to construction in 2023.

Key priorities for my Department's work programme include continuing strong delivery to support the operation of the school system with particular regard to planning ahead for the 2023/24 school year and beyond and also with particular regard to supporting special needs provision.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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393. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a breakdown of the anticipated number of additional school places for primary, secondary, and special schools for school building projects in County Mayo during the 2016 to 2023 period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11331/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is currently compiling the information that is available in response to the Deputy's request and this will be furnished separately to him as soon as possible.