Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regardless of what schools are to be built, the problem is that a huge catch up will be required in terms of the school buildings that have not yet started and those that have not been completed. The schools that are only starting to think about their requirements for a new building and which do not appear on any of the lists do not have any chance. I would add to those the schools that will be required because of demographic pressures, and many of them are probably required already. There has been a dramatic drop of 30% in the number of small classroom extensions delivered at primary level in recent years. There has been a smaller drop in the number of small extensions and extra classrooms delivered at second level. However, there has been a dramatic increase of 25% in the provision of prefabs in 2016 to 2017 under the Minister's watch and no one else's watch. He is fast becoming the Minister for prefabs, the Minister who cannot secure the school capital budget. I appeal to him, as I do all the time, to go back to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and tell him that land and building costs have shot up, that he needs more money to build schools or we simply will not have the classes required and our children will have to continue to be taught in substandard accommodation.

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