A leading campaigner for a new Cork school of music yesterday welcomed comments by a Department of Education official that the Department remains committed to the project, writes Barry Roche, Southern Correspondent.
Mr Gerry Kelly, a Cork School of Music lecturer, said staff and pupils were very encouraged by comments by Mr David Gordon that the Department of Education would need to see a schedule of construction of the €60 million building by the end of the year from the preferred bidder, Jarvis.
Mr Gordon said that if Jarvis - which is currently in negotiations with the German company, Hochtief, to sell on the contract for the Cork project - was unable to provide that schedule for construction, the Department might have to look at alternatives to build the school.
Yesterday Mr Kelly welcomed Mr Gordon's comments and said they clearly showed that the Department of Education and the Government were committed to delivering on their promise of a new school of music.
"That said, people are disappointed with the latest development because it means there's going to be yet another delay, a delay which could push the whole project back by an entire academic year, and that's not good news for either the staff or pupils.
"Our other big concern is that because the Government has put a cap on the price, the longer it takes, there's bound to be some diminution of the facilities we're going to get. Costs are going to rise, so the longer it takes to build, the less we're going to get for the fixed price."
The Cork School of Music is part of the Cork Institute of Technology. CIT's Head of Development, Mr Michael Delaney, said Mr Gordon had clearly reiterated the Government's commitment to providing a new school of music.
"We very much welcome Mr Gordon's statement - it's exactly in line with our own understanding of where the project is at ... We too would like to see a clear outline of the various steps and the timescale involved before the end of the year."
Mr Delaney said it was unfortunate that Jarvis ran into financial difficulties in its UK operation just as it was about to close the deal for the construction of the new school of music, but he expressed hope that Jarvis would be able to come up with a solution.
Meanwhile Mr Pat Gardiner, Jarvis Projects Ltd managing director, again expressed confidence that Jarvis and Hochtief would reach agreement and sign a contract before the end of the month for the handing over of the school of music project, along with projects in Britain and Northern Ireland.
"I would expect that we will have completed negotiations with Hochtief within a couple of weeks and we would hope to have a contract signed by the end of the month which would allow us have a plan ready for the Department of Education before Christmas," Mr Gardiner said.
He added that Jarvis and Hochtief had signed heads of terms last week and the only uncertainty surrounded the length of time it would take for the Government's legal advisers to decide whether the Jarvis-Hochtief deal was in breach of EU procurement rules.
Jarvis will be introducing Hochtief executives to Department of Education officials today but Hochtief was encouraged by the work already done by Jarvis and the Department of Education on the Cork School of Music project.