From €221k to €446k - design team fees for new Curraghmore NS sky rocket

The design team's fees for the new Curraghmore National School are more than double the original tendered amount, new figures have revealed.

According to Westmeath County Council's Audit Report for 2017, which came before councillors at yesterday's monthly meeting in Athlone, the revised design team fee is now €446,000. The original tendered fee was only €221,000.

The chief executive of the council, Pat Gallagher, stated in the audit that the increases in the fees paid to the project's design team were due “to a significant change in building regulations”.

“These additional fees arise from a client’s change under the conditions of the consultant’s contract already in place. Taking all the circumstances into account we are satisfied that value for money was achieved in the negotiations which took place to agree alterations to the contract value,” Mr Gallagher stated.

When construction work began on their new €5m home on the Ardmore Road last September, the staff and almost 290 pupils in Curraghmore NS had hoped that they would be relocated in time for the start of the new school year.

However, following what the contractors PJ McLoughlin and Sons describe as a combination of last winter's harsh weather and “extremely difficult unforeseen ground conditions” the completion date has now been put back to April of next year.

In an interview with the Westmeath Examiner this week, the principal Michael Molloy spoke about the school community's frustration at the delays, which he described as “unacceptable”.

See this week's Westmeath Examiner for Mr Molloy's interview and responses from PJ McLoughlin and Sons, the Department of Education and local TDs.