Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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312. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children at both primary and second level in non-permanent school accommodation by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13127/19]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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313. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children at both primary and second level in portakabins by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13128/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 313 together.

My Department does not hold information on the numbers of pupils in individual schools who currently occupy prefabs; this depends on the organisation of class groups by schools within available accommodation and may vary from year to year.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the overall policy goal of my Department is to ensure the highest standard of permanent accommodation for all schools. In the context of a rapidly increasing school population, my Department's priority is to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and in this regard, it is sometimes necessary to make use of temporary accommodation in order to meet the accommodation needs of schools.