Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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438. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of prefabs being used in primary and post primary schools across the State; the cost of these prefabs to the State, per county, in tabular form; the number of these prefabs that are being rented; the number that are being rented from foreign companies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32486/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Temporary accommodation in schools may be rented or purchased and funded by my department or by the school authority itself, with or without department sanction. For that reason it is not possible to provide the Deputy with a complete picture in respect of all temporary accommodation at schools as requested.

As the Deputy will appreciate, within the context of a rapidly increasing school population my department's priority is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place. In this regard, it is sometimes necessary to make use of temporary accommodation in order to meet the accommodation needs of schools.

The timing and duration of the accommodation need is also considered in determining the optimum accommodation solution – a short-term accommodation requirement does not require a long-term accommodation solution. For example, a school may require a temporary building in circumstances where a major school construction project is planned. Such temporary accommodation is removed when the major project concerned is completed. The length of time it is necessary to make use of temporary rented accommodation will vary from project to project.

Many schools based in rented buildings and on rented sites are already part of the pipeline of projects under the school building programme and their longer-term accommodation will be addressed as part of these projects. Maximising the opportunities to achieve value for money involves matching, as best as possible, the accommodation requirement with the appropriate accommodation solution. This is relevant for all accommodation projects progressed by my department.

The changing landscape in relation to enrolments means that accommodation requirements can vary locally and regionally and between short, medium and long-term and this is a relevant factor considered by my department in determining the type of accommodation solution to be put in place.

All current prefab providers of rental accommodation are situated in Ireland. Currently there are 476 primary and post primary schools which have rental accommodation on site.