Cathy Bennett
Ceist:213. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of and percentage of students in primary and secondary education who attend class in non-permanent modular classrooms. [10480/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 12 February 2026
Ceisteanna (213)
Freagraí scríofa
Temporary accommodation in schools may be rented or purchased and funded by my department or by the school authority itself, with or without department sanction. For that reason it is not possible to provide the Deputy with a complete picture in respect of all non-permanent modular classrooms at schools as requested.
As the Deputy will appreciate, within the context of a rapidly increasing school population my department's priority is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place. In this regard, it is sometimes necessary to make use of temporary accommodation in order to meet the accommodation needs of schools.
The timing and duration of the accommodation need is also considered in determining the optimum accommodation solution – a short-term accommodation requirement does not require a long-term accommodation solution. For example, a school may require a temporary building in circumstances where a major school construction project is planned. Such temporary accommodation is removed when the major project concerned is completed. The length of time it is necessary to make use of temporary rented accommodation will vary from project to project.
Many schools based in rented buildings and on rented sites are already part of the pipeline of projects under the school building programme and their longer-term accommodation will be addressed as part of these projects. Maximising the opportunities to achieve value for money involves matching, as best as possible, the accommodation requirement with the appropriate accommodation solution. This is relevant for all accommodation projects progressed by my department.
The changing landscape in relation to enrolments means that accommodation requirements can vary locally and regionally and between short, medium and long-term and this is a relevant factor considered by my department in determining the type of accommodation solution to be put in place.
While the number of students located in these rented modular units is a matter for individual school authorities, I can confirm that currently there are 654 contracts over 412 primary and post primary schools which have rental accommodation on site.
The Modular Accommodation Framework is a key part of the Department’s strategy for the provision of good quality functional accommodation to meet the permanent accommodation requirements for prioritised individual schools.
Modular accommodation is a feature of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) which describes a range of manufacturing and innovative alternatives to traditional construction. There are many benefits of adopting MMC in the school sector ranging from faster delivery of construction projects to minimising disruption in live school environments. My department has recently established a new Modular Framework of suppliers with new design guidance which provides high quality school accommodation and increased sustainability to improve the energy performance of school accommodation, resulting in improved comfort, lower energy bills and reduced carbon emissions. Framework suppliers use factory controlled precision through digitalisation and strict quality control processes to create consistent quality construction.
This new modular framework with new design guidance requires the building system to have a design life of 60 years. The factory precision of MMC contributes to the ability of this form of construction to deliver consistently robust buildings which are easy to manage and maintain, providing high quality learning spaces for the students of today and the future.