Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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67. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an overview of the timescale for the approval of school building projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23835/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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At present, there are five stages of architectural planning involved in the delivery of large scale school building projects. The stages reflect the requirements of the Capital Works Management Framework developed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The Department’s Design Team Procedures set out the requirements to be followed at each stage in the process and the Department employs a rigorous and structured approach to permitting a project to move from one stage to the next. This includes robust interrogation of project scope, design and cost by Department delivery teams at each stage.

While many variables can influence the timescale of a project, the following are indicative timeframes for each of the core project stages:

• Stage 1 – Preliminary Design (5-6 months) The Preliminary Design stage includes reviewing all information provided as part of the Project Brief. It also involves establishing and analysing all site factors and constraints which may impact on the project’s viability.
• Stage 2a - Developed Design (9-12 months) includes development of the design and accurately cost planning the option agreed with the Client. This stage brings the project to the point of lodging for statutory approvals.
• Stage 2b - Detailed Design (approx. 12 months, depending on planning complexity) 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 (approx. 12 months). 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 date for the calculation of the Contract period.
• Stage 4 – Construction (12 to 24 months) 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 (12 months minimum). The Design team individually and collectively are required to effectively manage the Project, and 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.

Stages are the same for Additional School Accommodation (ASA) projects and Large Scale projects. However, depending on the size and scale of the project there may be fewer interactions with the Department for ASA than with the large-scale projects. The Modular Accommodation Programme which provides good long-term accommodation solutions for schools has the benefit of operating to significantly reduced delivery timelines – typically to a total of around 12 months.

Notwithstanding the indicative timeframes referenced above, it is important to note that projects are managed and advanced within the context of an overall building programme which must address many competing priorities. There are currently in excess of 1400 projects of various scales in the Department’s pipeline, €1.2 billion worth of projects under construction and a further €800m worth of projects confirmed to proceed from tender to construction during 2024 and early 2025. Individual projects must therefore must be managed and progressed within the parameters of the overall building programme, including budgetary parameters.

The status of all projects is set out at . This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.