Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 484: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the amount her Department has spent on prefabs for schools to date in 2006; the amount spent in 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41329/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Between January 2003 and the end of October 2006, a total of €47.57m was expended by my Department on the purchase of prefab accommodation for primary and second level schools across the country. The annualised details are set out in the attached table. The expenditure was for the supply and installation of prefabricated buildings including associated site works, and other costs such as compliance with planning permission conditions, professional fees, and connections for water, electricity and sewage.

The spend on temporary accommodation represents a very small fraction of the overall yearly spend on school buildings. The current focus within my Department is to empower schools to resolve their accommodation needs, wherever possible, by way of permanent accommodation. In order to reduce the amount of temporary accommodation at primary level a new devolved initiative was launched in 2003. The purpose of this initiative is to allow schools to undertake a permanent solution to their classroom accommodation needs and to achieve the best value for money. Since the introduction of the devolved initiative, over 200 schools have been allocated funding under this scheme.