PAC urges review as school prefabs cost State €56m in two years

Expenditure on temporary school accommodation in 2018 amounted to €26.2m, increasing to €29.5m in 2019.

The Dáil's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called on the Department of Education to carry out a review of the use of temporary accommodation in schools, which has cost the State almost €56m in the last two years.

PAC on Friday published its report, Examination of the 2018 and 2019 Appropriation Accounts for Vote 26 – Education and Skills, finding that one school had been using prefabricated classrooms on a temporary basis since 2000.

Expenditure on temporary school accommodation in 2018 amounted to €26.2m, increasing to €29.5m in 2019.

Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley, chairman of PAC, said the committee questioned whether temporary accommodation arrangements for schools are providing value for money, particularly when there are agreements that date back to 20 years. 

The report originates from a meeting with the Department of Education in October 2020 following a procurement process on the calculated grades system and the Leaving Certificate and identified six issues.

On temporary school accommodation, the committee said that it acknowledges the "the schoolgoing population has increased nationally over the last decade and this has increased the need for school accommodation" but said that accurate forecasting was needed to ensure that appropriate accommodation was used. The department told the committee that it "views temporary accommodation arrangements as interim measures to provide school spaces and that it has increased its spend on capital projects to address the use of temporary accommodation arrangements".

The committee recommended that by the end of this year the department undertakes and completes a review of all temporary accommodation agreements for schools that have been in operation for more than five years to identify and prioritise areas to commence construction of school premises.

Over 400 of the almost 4,000 schools in the State are currently using or partially using rented accommodation.

The majority of these (69%) are primary schools, and the date of each individual rental ranges from 2000 to 2020.

Paper payslips

PAC also raised concerns about Department of Education expenditure on posting payslips to staff after it found €10.2m had been spent over six years posting payslips to about 130,000 staff on a fortnightly basis. The department informed the committee that it currently operates four separate payroll systems and that an interim upgrade of the payroll system is due to take place before the end of this year. The department said that it anticipates it would take "approximately three to four years to develop and implement an electronic system" to replace paper payslips in the sector.

Mr Stanley said that the issue of temporary accommodation "raises questions" and said that PAC had pushed the department to maintain high standards in procurement processes.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has, of course, presented departments with significant obstacles to planning ahead and it has sprung many new and unexpected demands upon public expenditure," said Mr Stanley.

“However, it is essential that we deal with these urgent matters in a way in which the taxpayer is protected and risk is minimised.

“The committee's report has recommended that the Department of Education strive for the highest standards of oversight possible with regards to the procurement process and liaise with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure that the risk to taxpayers is minimised on each occasion."

The committee also examined issues around legal costs incurred by the department in 2018, the winding down of Caranua (the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund), and defective buildings.