Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
133. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Education the costs associated with the delivery of modular school accommodation versus accommodation procured pre-Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31641/23]
View answerThe Department has a significant modular accommodation programme in place to assist schools in the provision of additional capacity, including in respect of facilitating the establishment of special classes. This programme now includes the use of Project Management supports which are designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects.
The use of the Department’s Modular Accommodation Framework also assists in ensuring lead in periods for procurement of modular accommodation are minimised to the greatest extent possible. To date, this has worked very well in the education sector and has seen delivery of large scale, high quality modular accommodation to meet the needs of children, particularly those with special educational needs. However, the wider context in relation to the overall modular market at present is challenging with modular accommodation suppliers being very busy across commercial, housing and other sectors. The Department is working closely with both the Project Management teams and the modular accommodation suppliers to ensure additional capacity for the schools sector is delivered as economically and as efficiently as possible.
Officials from my Department will compile and provide additional information on this question directly to the Deputy.
