Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

My priority is to ensure there is sufficient school accommodation to meet projected pupil enrolment increases into the future. The five-year plan, which I announced in March as part of a €2 billion capital investment programme, outlines the major school projects that will commence construction over the duration of the plan. These have been prioritised on the basis of meeting significant demographic needs. In addition, my Department will consider applications by schools for funding for additional classrooms, which schools may provide on a permanent basis, where an immediate enrolment need is arising.

Under the recent biggest initiative ever undertaken to replace rented prefabs in schools, almost 200 schools have been offered grants to build permanent accommodation this year, that is, over a third of all schools which currently have rented prefabs. Over €40 million has been allocated for this initiative. In light of the need to prioritise available funding to meet demographic demand, it is not possible to say whether this scheme will be extended.

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