Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy will be aware from previous replies over the past few weeks, the position is that while comprehensive information is held on individual school files, the Department does not yet have these details available in a format that provides readily accessible cumulative information on the overall position regarding temporary accommodation. However, this issue is being addressed as a matter of urgency and work on compiling a comprehensive database of such information is well advanced. This work is part of a general review of rental policy being undertaken. Information is being collated on approximately 900 schools which have received approval from the Department for temporary accommodation, including but not limited to prefabs. This will be used to produce a database of information which will be maintained on an ongoing basis. I will ensure the Deputy receives the information sought once it is available. I anticipate this work will be completed shortly.

The Deputy will be aware that demand for additional accommodation in schools has risen significantly over the last number of years, with the appointment of 6,000 extra teachers in the primary sector alone since 2002. In considering the need to provide extra resource and other teachers to schools in recent years, the Government could have decided to make children wait until permanent accommodation could be provided. However, we prioritised putting the extra teachers into schools as soon as possible.

Against this background, my Department has nonetheless managed to keep expenditure on temporary accommodation low. It should be noted that the amount spent on rental accommodation was still only 5.5% of the total investment in school buildings in 2007. Even when the rental and purchase of temporary accommodation is taken together, it still only comes to 6.2% of overall investment in school buildings last year. This compares with 10.8% in 2003. Suggestions that spending on prefabs has grown dramatically in recent years are therefore quite misleading.

It should also be noted that temporary accommodation is not limited to prefabs and can also involve the rental of high quality buildings. I share the Deputy's concern that expenditure on prefabs be kept as low as possible and I assure him that this is the case. The database of temporary accommodation that is currently being finalised will inform my Department's future decision-making in this area.

See this speech in context