School Accommodation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 March 2012

Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Ceisteanna (47, 48)

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

47 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount that has been spent each year over the past five years by his Department on the rental of prefabs for the purpose of using them as classrooms; and if he will provide a breakdown for each county. [12938/12]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn)

The amount spent on renting temporary accommodation at primary and post-primary level, including — but not limited to — prefabricated accommodation from 2008 to 2011 is outlined on a county by county basis in the table. In 2007 €35.5m was spent on rented accommodation and a breakdown by county is not readily available for that year.

Rental Costs 2008 to 2011

County	Year
	2008	2009	2010	2011
Carlow	€564,579	€551,476	€457,867	€451,559
Cavan	€1,007,874	€637,088	€491,151	€473,625
Clare	€1,438,764	€1,109,777	€669,258	€766,587
Cork	€6,870,032	€5,423,122	€4,267,734	€4,359,436
Donegal	€2,208,454	€1,489,610	€1,004,260	€1,276,444
Dublin	€10,447,602	€8,848,582	€6,543,443	€5,741,021
Galway	€3,396,154	€2,411,225	€2,226,377	€2,512,891
Kerry	€922,581	€586,922	€385,253	€472,166
Kildare	€3,457,349	€2,539,227	€1,307,591	€1,119,027
Kilkenny	€493,852	€388,580	€205,452	€246,582
Laois	€1,524,799	€671,842	€480,767	€556,210
Leitrim	€252,380	€258,886	€230,245	€205,676
Limerick	€1,220,508	€916,867	€1,049,482	€1,088,831
Longford	€714,725	€377,688	€151,332	€289,932
Louth	€2,732,568	€1,339,737	€1,414,671	€1,278,854
Mayo	€1,265,628	€934,526	€754,378	€571,071
Meath	€4,721,775	€3,595,116	€2,146,033	€2,067,207
Monaghan	€346,741	€419,135	€228,378	€272,721
Offaly	€950,124	€603,463	€714,265	€527,999
Roscommon	€172,393	€298,082	€168,337	€166,960
Sligo	€534,361	€308,014	€290,454	€372,339
Tipperary	€893,824	€724,791	€642,232	€557,054
Waterford	€1,671,991	€1,105,806	€879,080	€678,790
Westmeath	€1,123,898	€669,465	€519,824	€447,694
Wexford	€1,877,464	€1,469,516	€1,125,035	€1,221,432
Wicklow	€1,897,420	€1,252,417	€956,402	€1,241,267
Totals	€52,707,840	€38,930,959	€29,309,300	€28,963,378

Mattie McGrath

Ceist:

48 Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of money that has been spent on refurbishment and extension works for small schools, four teachers and less, per year, per county, per size of school for the past ten years; his views that forcing the amalgamation or closure of such schools would be a waste of taxpayers’ money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12946/12]

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn)

The expenditure information on refurbishment and extension works is not readily available within my Department and it would require a very substantial amount of administrative time to identify and extract the full range of details sought. The level of resources required to compile the information sought would not be warranted. Should the Deputy require information on a particular school I would be glad to provide it.

However, I wish to advise the Deputy that the decision making authority for any amalgamation belongs to the Patron of a school, subject to the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills. My Department's role is to facilitate any such proposal or discussions between the relevant parties. The initiative for an amalgamation may come from a variety of sources, such as parents, staff, Board of Management and Patron. I have said on several occasions that any decisions to amalgamate schools will be voluntary and follow decisions taken at a local level. The financial consequences associated with amalgamations would also have to take into account the continuing requirement to manage expenditure within the context of overall educational policy and the level of budgetary provision available at the time.

It is worth noting that there are 3,200 primary schools across Ireland. Approximately, one third of those schools has less than 86 pupils and, as a result, has far lower average class sizes. For example, a two teacher school with 32 pupils has an average class size of 1 teacher for 16 pupils. In contrast, a typical 10 teacher school with 272 pupils has an average class size of 27.2 pupils. In that regard, the existing staffing schedule acts as a disincentive for small schools to consider amalgamations. At a time of great strain in our public finances, we have to ensure that the very valuable but limited resources available for the education system are used in the best way possible.