Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the education system have cost the State more than the usual schools funding mechanisms, according to today's annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).
The 'grouped schools pilot partnership project' undertaken by the Department of Education involving the development of five new schools in partnership with British company Jarvis. C&AG today estimated the cost could be between 8 and 13 per cent higher than traditional funding methods.
Schools in Dunmanway and Ballincollig, Co Cork; Clones, Co Monaghan; Shannon Co Clare and Tubbercurry, Co Sligo began operating in January 2003 after Jarvis were awarded a contract to construct and manage non-educational matters at the schools for 25 years.
Three schools were originally earmarked for the pilot scheme in 1999 but later extended to five. " The increase in scale made the project more attractive to prospective private sector partners, but it also increased the State's exposure in the event the pilot project would not deliver good value," the report says.
The report notes the Department did not set a budget for the project meaning had "no reliable benchmark" against which to judge the affordability of the tenders.
However, the Department "was reasonably successful" in restricting "upward cost drift" when negotiating the final terms of the deal with Jarvis, the report says.
It also acknowledged that value for money can only be established over the 25-year cycle of the project, but recommended the Department undertake a retrospective evaluation of the project after five years.
The Department hoped a 6 per cent saving would be achieved but the