Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 April 2013
112. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which, in the context of the school building programme, he has managed to replace temporary or prefabricated classrooms with permanent structures over the last two years; his plans in this regard in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17966/13]
View answer116. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which, in the context of the school building programme, he has managed to replace temporary or prefabricated classrooms with permanent structures over the past two years within County Kildare; his plans in this regard in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17970/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 116 together.
The 5 Year Construction Plan I announced in March 2012, together with my recent announcement of the 50 school projects from that Plan which are scheduled for construction in the current year as part of a €2 billion capital investment programme, outlines the major school projects that will commence construction over the duration of the Plan (2012-2016).
The primary aim at the core of the Five Year Plan is focused on meeting demographic demands to ensure that every child will have access to a school place and that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing pupil numbers. Temporary accommodation is generally replaced with a permanent structure as part of the building project for those schools listed in the Plan.
Under my Department's Prefab Replacement Initiative announced in March 2012 over 170 schools have been approved to replace their rented prefab accommodation with permanent. In excess of €42 million has been allocated for this initiative of which €21.7 million has been paid to date. Funding is provided in two tranches, 70% when the project goes to construction and the remaining 30% on completion. A total of 124 projects have gone to construction and 15 of these have been completed. The rental savings achieved by the 15 completed projects are in the region of €197,000. These figures will be subject to change as further projects are completed. The current status of all projects, including those in County Kildare, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie and this will be updated regularly throughout the year.
