Department of Education and Science:The Department of Education and Science has been unable to demonstrate that its building programme is focused on areas of greatest need, the Comptroller & Auditor General has said.
The Department lacks a formal and objective set of criteria to give priority to school building projects, he said.
"Building projects are currently recommended for funding on the basis of consensus judgments by Department officials having regard to a number of factors, including the availability, adequacy and safety of existing accommodation," the Comptroller said.
"However, no formal set of fixed quantified criteria exists. A list of recommended projects is submitted for senior management and ministerial approval, and amendments may be made to the selection at this stage," the report added.
"Without a proper prioritisation system based on predetermined objective criteria, the Department cannot demonstrate that the building programme addresses the areas of greatest need among the many projects proposed," it said.
"While this report was being finalised, the Department indicated that it had commenced the development of a formal prioritisation procedure involving a points system based on relevant factors for ranking projects."
In January 2003 the Minister for Education and Science published on the Department's website details of criteria for prioritising large-scale primary and post-primary building projects.
The Comptroller asked why certain primary-school projects published on Lists 3, 4 and 5 on the Department's website in April 2002, and some not listed, had progressed to construction ahead of schools on List 2, which were of higher priority.
The accounting officer responded that the identified projects were "ready for tender", "would be ready for tender" and "expected to be ready for tender" and, accordingly, were at a more advanced stage.
A significant increase in expenditure on temporary accommodation and emergency works programmes was demand-driven, the accounting officer said. They were impossible to forecast and involved increasing enrolments, establishment of special units, provision of additional teachers and expansion of recently established Gaelscoileanna and multidenominational schools.
In regard to the Cork School of Music public-private partnership project, the report said: "In the event the project does not proceed, a possible financial exposure for the Exchequer may arise in relation to costs incurred by the preferred bidder on the project."
He outlined the need for co-ordination between Departments and between sections of Departments in such a project, and the need for as much clarity as possible as to the respective roles and responsibilities of various players.