Tackling legacy of school prefabs may yield 800 jobs

A €5m annual saving and over 800 jobs have been promised in a Department of Education plan to build classrooms in place of hundreds of rented school prefabs.

Almost €100m was spent by the department renting prefabs and other temporary school accommodation in the past three years.

Ruairi Quinn, the education minister, says the €35m investment will replace prefabs in which about 6,000 children at the 200 primary and second-level schools are being taught.