The Government's decision to build 27 new schools using the public/private partnership programme (PPP) must be welcomed, given the gaps in the education infrastructure across the State.
In all, some €300 million is being provided for 23 second-level and four primary schools. Some are in burgeoning "new" areas such as Adamstown in Dublin. Others will be located in places like Gorey in Wexford, where the resources of the existing schools are stretched to the limit.
There is much work to be done on school buildings. The scandalous era of leaking roofs, rotting timber and rat- infested school yards has not completely passed. There are also scores of communities, particularly in the commuter towns close to Dublin and Cork, where education infrastructure has failed to keep pace with population growth. For all that, solid progress has been made in the past three years - not least because of the efforts of the former education minister Noel Dempsey. He responded to a vigorous INTO campaign on school buildings by developing a rolling, five-year plan for new schools.
The new programme, launched yesterday by the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, and the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, builds on this progress. The Government has enthusiastically embraced the PPP model, despite the problems which surfaced during a pilot project involving a small number of schools. Last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General signalled that some of these schools provided poor value for money to the taxpayer.
Yesterday, both Ministers stressed that lessons have been learned from the pilot project and corrective measures put in place. Both seem confident that the PPP projects will deliver a huge number of construction schemes at the best available prices. The Government says it is following best international practice, where PPPs form an integral part of all major public infrastructural projects.
The Government also says the new procedure will allow for the speedy delivery of schools to communities across the State. Ms Hanafin said there will, over time, be considerable savings for the Exchequer and the education budget in the new venture. It is to be hoped that this will prove to be the case. But the pilot scheme and the findings of the C&AG do not give grounds for unbridled optimism. One other pertinent issue was raised by the INTO last night: if a private contractor can deliver a project within a certain time frame, surely there is no reason why the State cannot do the same?