4115. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to PQ Nos. 6899/26 and 50256/26, the timeframe for the appointment of a design team (details supplied). [64115/26]

Cavan Monaghan ETB’s FET College Major Capital Project proposal involves the development of new centralised accommodation on land that is owned by CMETB and is currently occupied by Cavan Institute at Cathedral Road in the town. This proposal is currently at the Pre-tender - Project Design, Planning and Procurement Strategy stage.

To provide for consistency of approach and to ensure timely delivery of projects under this programme, an integrated design team framework was advertised to suppliers in April this year. This framework has been evaluated and is now in place.

In order to prepare Cavan Monaghan ETB to access the integrated design team framework a series of workshops have been organised. The first of these workshops took place on the 1st of September where officials from my Department, SOLAS and the GDA met with officials from the ETB to discuss their project specific requirements and to outline the required steps that need to take place to draw down design team services from the framework. To ensure that the project retains the required momentum and moves at the required pace, the next workshop meeting with the ETB is currently being arranged for early October.