Major school building projects on hold

By Niall Murray

New contractors have yet to be appointed to complete three major school projects stalled by the collapse of the Sammon group earlier this summer.

Contracts were terminated by Cork Education and Training Board (ETB) in May when Sammon was already in examinership, as plans were not forthcoming on how they intended to complete two second-level school extensions in Fermoy and Midleton.

Cork ETB received responses three weeks ago to pre-qualifying questionnaires from prospective replacement contractors and has yet to formally re-tender for the work.

“The programme of works for the two Cork projects currently envisages the projects being completed in time for the start of the new school year in 2019,” a Department of Education spokeswoman told the Irish Examiner.

Work on a 35-classroom extension, a new sports hall, and a standalone engineering room at St Colman’s College in Midleton was 80% complete when the ETB cancelled the contract with Sammon more than three months ago.

The smaller extension at Coláiste an Chraobhín, Fermoy, was further along but both projects require the completion of snags, removal of defective work, and testing and certification of the completed work.

As well as the delayed transfer of students to school extensions, the Sammon collapse means extra expenses where growing enrolments mean temporary accommodation has to be rented.

The liquidated firm had also been working on the country’s largest school building project to provide two new 1,000-student second-level schools in Maynooth. They were due to be completed by next May, but the department now says they are not expected to be finished until June 2020.

Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board invited interested contractors to take part in a pre-qualification process for completion of the project in late June, with responses being accepted up to July 23.

The Department of Education had devolved management of all three projects to the two ETBs, but five other schools and a further education college were being built by a Sammon group subsidiary for the department’s private partners in a public-private partnership (PPP) deal.

Work resumed on the most advanced of those projects last month, with a target of having them ready for occupation by the end of this month, but others may not be completed before the end of the year.

A number of the sites were picketed in July by sub-contractors left unpaid by Sammon for work and supplies, but a High Court injunction was secured to allow work continue at the schools.

The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), which manages the PPP process for the department, has told the Oireachtas Finance Committee it is up to the PPP company’s replacement contractor whether to engage firms that previously worked on the projects to certify past work and qualify them for full payment.

Sammon had also been working to finalise two other school projects directly funded through the Department of Education, but both contracts were terminated in May.

The department said a design team hopes to tender “in the near future” for remaining external works at Gaelscoil Bharra in Cabra, Dublin 7, which was been ready for occupation last September. In June, the department was hoping the work could be completed in time for the start of the new school year.

It also said that Laois-Offaly Education and Training Board hopes to be able to tender shortly for remaining works at Tullamore College, which is already occupied by students and staff but where Sammon has yet to complete work on a car park.