The devolved scheme for the provision of additional classrooms allows those schools with an urgent and pressing need for additional accommodation which is likely to last for more than 3 years, and which are being given approval for grant aid, to avail of the option of using their grants either to purchase prefabs or to construct permanent classrooms for the same amount.
Funding is approved on a devolved basis for both options and it is then a matter for the schools to decide which option to pursue. Schools may claim the first portion of the grant when the building works commence, 70% of the cost of the project, subject to receipt of the necessary certification and the balance when the project is completed.
Due to industrial action on the part of some staff in the Department of Education and Science, I am not in a position to provide the detailed information sought by the Deputy.