Temporary classrooms becoming the norm for pupils

OVER €19 million has been spent on renting temporary prefabricated buildings for primary and secondary schools this year — prompting concerns that “prefab villages” are becoming an accepted norm.

Each hired prefab is costing the Department of Education around €60,000 per annum, according to Fine Gael Deputy Paul McGrath.

He yesterday accused the Government of providing taxpayers with poor value for money.

It has emerged that over 5% of the Government’s total capital expenditure this year has been spent on the rental of temporary school premises.

“The figures have been growing dramatically each year, on average by €3 million per annum in terms of the cost of renting these prefabs,” Mr McGrath said.

“There has to be a case made for allowing schools to immediately proceed to acquiring additional permanent classrooms instead of resorting to prefabs for several years while they wait on approval for an extension.”

In reply to a parliamentary question by Labour’s Eamon Gilmore, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said expenditure on temporary school accommodation represented a “very small fraction” of the overall yearly spend on school buildings.

“The demand for additional accommodation in schools has risen significantly over the last number of years,” she said. “It is mainly due to the rapid expansion in teacher numbers, particularly in the area of special needs, along with the growth in the school-going population in rapidly developing areas and the demands to cater for diversity through the recognition of new Gaelscoileanna and Educate Together schools,” she said.

Ms Hanafin added that the provision of rented accommodation provided an immediate solution to a deficit of school accommodation, and was often the “only available option” where extra accommodation was required at short notice.

Between 2000 and 2005, the Department of Education spent €74.3m on temporary prefabricated buildings.

A spokesman for the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said there were examples of schools and classes in prefabs all over the country which gave a new meaning to the word “temporary”. He said there are examples of children being taught in the same prefabs in which their parents went to school and teachers teaching in the prefabs in which they were taught as young children.

Despite major improvements in the department’s school building programme, the INTO said, urgent changes were needed to the planning process which would allow for the building of permanent accommodation sooner.

“The INTO accepts that there will always be a desire for a small amount of temporary accommodation to meet emergency or unforeseen needs,” the spokesman said.