Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

Prefabs have been a difficult issue for a number of years but we have made some good progress in recent years in relation to prefabs. The total number of prefabs being rented is decreasing year on year, being just under 1,700 in 2010, 1,500 in 2011 and 1,400 in 2012.

Our expenditure has come down on all rental of temporary accommodation over the past three years, from €29 million in 2010 to €24.7 million in 2012. There are a number of reasons for the decreasing expenditure. We implemented a 10% reduction in rental sanctions and schools negotiated the 10% with their renter. We have also been buying out some older prefabs. Schools can be quite resistant to the buying out of older prefabs because we only buy ones we deem to be in good condition. Schools feel that if we buy out a prefab, it means the school will not have a permanent solution for a while. With the demographic increase, a lot of additional accommodation is being granted. We put in place a scheme whereby if temporary accommodation is needed for more than three years, we will give the schools a grant to build rather than to buy or rent a prefab. The majority of schools-----