Carillion school completion
John Brady welcomed a new contractor to finish three schools affected by the Carillion collapse and noted maintenance concerns. The Minister of State said the Education Minister was aware of the issue and would meet the Deputy if needed.
On Monday, the Dutch Infrastructure Fund made an announcement that a contractor, Woodvale Construction, was to be appointed to finish three schools that were caught up in the collapse of Carillion. Two of those schools are in my own constituency, namely, Ravenswell primary school and Coláiste Ráithín, while one, Loreto College, is in Wexford. The appointment has to be welcomed. There is a new timeline for construction, with those schools to be completed in August. Facilities maintenance was not included but we were told at the outset that was a critical reason for the prolonged delay in appointing the contractor. Are there problems appointing a facilities management provider? Can the Taoiseach give categorical assurances that those schools that are due to be completed in August will open in September, irrespective of whether there is an agreement on facilities maintenance?
Comment on this
The Minister for Education and Skills is aware of the problems that the Deputy has spoken about, and I believe he is in contact with the officials. If the Deputy wishes to have a further meeting with the Minister, for a detailed analysis of where we stand on that particular problem, we can do that within a week or two.