My Department spent €8,745,049.73 on the provision of prefabricated accommodation in primary schools in 2004. Any expenditure incurred in 2004 on the upkeep of existing prefabricated accommodation would have been financed under the minor works grant issued to all recognised primary schools annually.
The minor works grant is issued on the basis of a school allocation amounting to €3,809.21 and a pupil allocation amounting to €12.70. In the post-primary sector, my Department spent €3,997,842.79 on the provision of prefabricated accommodation and a sum of €129,456.92 on the refurbishment of prefabricated accommodation.
Any additional expenditure in 2004 on the upkeep of prefabricated accommodation would have been addressed directly by individual schools as necessary using the maintenance portion of current funding provided by my Department.
My Department is anxious to ensure that prefabricated accommodation is only purchased where absolutely necessary. A permanent accommodation initiative was introduced in 2003 to give 20 primary schools the capacity to provide a permanent solution to their accommodation needs instead of addressing their needs with the use of temporary or prefabricated accommodation. The initiative was expanded in 2004 to include 41 additional primary schools. Increasingly, the focus within my Department is to empower schools to resolve their accommodation needs in a permanent manner rather than relying heavily on temporary accommodation.