Temporary Solutions Cannot Become Permanent Policy: Government Must Answer for €1.3 Billion School Accommodation Bill
Temporary Solutions Cannot Become Permanent Policy: Government Must Answer for €1.3 Billion School Accommodation Bill - The Labour Party
Labour Party TD and Member of the Public Accounts Committee, Eoghan Kenny TD, has said that the scale of spending on temporary school accommodation demonstrates a failure of long-term planning by successive governments and raises serious questions about value for money for taxpayers.
Deputy Kenny was commenting following confirmation that more than €222 million has been spent on rented land and accommodation for schools over the past five years, while separate figures show that the Department of Education has spent approximately €1.14 billion on its modular accommodation programme between 2021 and 2025.
“Every child deserves access to a modern, permanent school building that can meet their educational needs. There is no doubt that modular accommodation and temporary arrangements have an important role to play in responding to urgent demand. However, temporary measures were never intended to become a long-term substitute for proper planning and investment.
“Families across the country are struggling with the cost of living, rising rents and increasing mortgage repayments. They expect Government to spend public money wisely. Taxpayers are entitled to ask how we have reached a point where more than €1.3 billion has been spent on temporary school accommodation solutions, while communities continue to wait for permanent educational infrastructure.
“The Department has confirmed that 595 modular projects have been completed since 2021, with a further 198 at an advanced stage of delivery. That demonstrates the scale of demand that exists. But it also exposes the failure to adequately plan for growing school populations and future educational needs.
“The average cost of an 82 square metre primary school modular classroom is now €367,000 excluding VAT and before associated site works are taken into account. Once these additional costs are included, the overall bill rises even further. Taxpayers deserve to know whether this represents the best use of public money and what measures are being taken to reduce reliance on costly temporary accommodation.
“As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I believe there must be full transparency around these expenditures. We need to understand why temporary accommodation costs continue to escalate, whether value for money is being achieved, and what plans are in place to deliver the permanent school buildings our communities need.
“Our students, parents and school staff deserve certainty. They deserve schools that are built to serve their communities for generations, not a system increasingly dependent on expensive stop-gap measures.
“The Government must now set out a clear, long-term strategy for school infrastructure. Temporary solutions cannot become permanent policy. The era of reacting to demand instead of planning for it must come to an end.”
Deputy Kenny concluded:
“No one disputes the need to accommodate children quickly. The real question is why the State continues to spend billions on temporary fixes while failing to get ahead of the demand we know is coming. Taxpayers deserve better planning, better value for money and lasting investment in our schools.”