Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

----- increase in the number of students in school, and after a number of very difficult years, the number of prefabs has been reduced to 1,325. That contrasts significantly with the position in 2008, when there were more children in prefabs but fewer children in school. At that time, there was a much worse situation than currently.

With regard to the capital allocation for education, that is outlined in Project Ireland 2040. Some €8.4 billion has been provided for investment in school buildings. That is up from €4.9 billion in the previous ten years. In the last ten years, just under €5 billion was allocated for school buildings. That increases to €8.4 billion for the next ten years. That includes the prefab replacement scheme, commencing in 2019; the deep refurbishment of existing buildings; the modernisation of science and PE facilities, which is very important now that PE has become a subject for the living certificate; and also investment in digital technologies in schools.

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