Jan O'Sullivan, Minister for Education and Skills, has today confirmed that BAM PPP has been selected as the preferred tenderer for four new schools in Ireland.

The schools will form the fourth bundle of schools to be delivered under the Department's Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme. Under the PPP model, the schools will be designed, built, financed and maintained for 25 years by BAM PPP.

The schools in this project will in on four sites in counties Claire, Cork, Louth and Tipperary.

They are:

• St Joseph's Secondary School (Tulla, Co Clare) – A new co-educational post primary school and is intended to be a replacement for the existing school. The School is intended to provide approximately 650 pupil spaces.

-- Advertisement --

• Skibbereen Community School (Skibbereen, Co Cork) – A new co-educational post primary school arising from the amalgamation of Mercy Heights Secondary School, St Fachtna's – De La Salle College and Rossa College. The School is intended to provide approximately 900 pupil places.

• St Mary's College (Dundalk, Co Louth) – A new co-educational post primary school and is intended to be a replacement for the existing school. The School is intended to provide approximately 900 pupil spaces.

• Comeragh College (Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary) - A new co-educational post primary school and is intended to be a replacement for the existing school. The School is intended to provide approximately 500 pupil spaces.

BAM PPP will provide a range of facilities management services that will include building maintenance, cleaning, security, grounds maintenance and specialist equipment support.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister O'Sullivan said: "I am delighted to announce that, subject to the satisfactory outcome of the planning process, and the conclusion of the remaining stages in the procurement process, it is intended that construction will commence in first quarter of 2015 and the new schools will be available from second quarter of 2016.

"I am conscious of the importance of this project to each of the communities in which the schools are located. Taken together this project is providing nearly 3,000 new, state-of-the-art school places."

(JP/IT)