The Department of Education and Science has spent over €74 million on temporary prefabricated buildings for primary and second-level schools in the past five years, prompting concerns that it is failing to secure value for money when it comes to school accommodation.
Commenting on the issue in a recent Dáil reply, Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin said demand for additional accommodation in schools has risen significantly in recent years, mainly due to the rapid expansion in teacher numbers.
Her department's aim is to ensure children do not spend too long in temporary accommodation, she said. The figure of €74.3 million spent to date since 2000 represented less than 5 per cent of total expenditure on school buildings between 2000 and 2004, she said.
"The focus in my department is to empower schools to resolve their accommodation needs, wherever possible in a permanent manner, rather than relying on temporary accommodation," she said.
"Prefabs are not a long-term solution. However, a school or an extra classroom cannot be built between now and September. This is why prefabs are provided in ensuring places for children."
But the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), whose annual conference started in Galway yesterday, questioned whether a figure of €74 million in just five years represented value for money.
While there would always be a need for temporary accommodation, John Carr, INTO general secretary said it believed many schools allocated prefabricated buildings could have had permanent classrooms built almost as cheaply.
"It shows the extent of the lack of planning in the Department of Education. If proper planning had been in place, a lot of these buildings could have been permanent," he said. "Our biggest fear is that the track record shows they are becoming permanent.
"We have some schools who have had temporary accommodation for 20 to 25 years. There is no comparison between this and a proper classroom. "
Prefabricated classrooms tended to be too cold in winter and too warm in summer, he said, and frequently were not as large as permanent classrooms.
However, Mr Carr added he was "happy" that the situation regarding school buildings was improving.