Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Details on prefab units for County Cavan and Monaghan are provided in the table below.

The overall policy goal is to ensure the highest standard of permanent accommodation for all schools. However, I'm sure the Deputy will appreciate that in the context of a rapidly increasing school population, the necessity to put additional accommodation in place in a short time-frame and competing pressure on the capital budget, it will continue to be necessary to use temporary accommodation to meet the needs of schools in certain circumstances. This is because competing priorities mean that it will not always be possible to have a permanent accommodation solution in place in a short time-frame. My Department will continue to provide funding for such prefabricated accommodation and the decision on whether to rent or purchase will depend on the likely length of time it will be required. In all cases, the approach will be to ensure best value for money.

The overall amount spent on the rental of temporary accommodation in 2008 was almost €53m. In 2009, expenditure on the rental of temporary accommodation fell significantly to €39m, a saving of €14m over 2008.

One change in policy that has been implemented is to grant aid the purchase (rather than rental) of temporary accommodation where the need for such accommodation is likely to exist for more than 3 years. Furthermore, since July 2008, it is my policy to offer schools being approved for grant aid for temporary accommodation the option to use their capital grant aid to build a permanent classroom(s) rather than purchase a prefab.

These policies will reduce the usage of temporary accommodation and, particularly, the incidence of long term rental of prefabs and have contributed to the saving of €14m on annual expenditure on rental of temporary accommodation in 2009 as compared to 2008.

In addition, my Department has engaged a specialist firm to develop new procedures and systems for the provision of temporary accommodation with a view to achieving best value for money. Work is well underway and the firm of specialists is working closely with officials in the Planning and Building Unit of my Department. The review incorporates the development of standard specifications for temporary accommodation, the development of new contractual terms to incorporate buy-out and relocation options to cater for individual local circumstances and appropriately protect the interests of the Department and school authorities.

Another strand of the review is negotiations with prefab suppliers to buy out existing rental contracts or reductions in annual rent, as appropriate. An initial group of 46 schools with rented prefabricated accommodation has been identified for priority negotiations with suppliers to buy out existing rental contracts.

A number of these prefabs have now been bought-out and negotiations are ongoing with a view to ending rental contracts for as many schools as possible in 2010.

In the meantime, schools proposing to rent temporary accommodation must seek competitive quotes from suppliers which should allow them to take advantage of competitive market prices.