The long-term use of prefabs in schools will end under a new school building programme, Ministers have pledged.

Hundreds of new building projects and more than 60,000 additional school places will be provided over the next six years to keep pace with the State’s baby boom under the plan.

Most of these projects will involve re-building or the expansion of existing schools, typically costing in excess of €1 million.

A total of 14 new schools will be built in areas of strong population growth.

In 2017, new primary schools will open in Pelletstown, Dublin 7; Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin; Ballincollig, Co. Cork. New secondary schools wil open in the Carpenterstown and Castleknock area of Dublin 15;  Limerick City (south-west); Lucan, Co. Dublin; Malahide and Portmarnock, Co. Dublin; Portlaoise, Co. Laois; Swords, Co. Dublin.

In 2018, a new primary school is due to open in Dublin south city centre, while secondary schools are due to Limerick City (east); Dublin south city-centre; and Firhouse, Dublin 24.

In addition, population trends indicate new schools may be needed at second level in areas such as south Kildare; Enfield Co Meath; Galway City; north-west Dublin City; the Dublin 13 and Dublin 17 area; Kinnegad; and the Mallow and Fermoy areas of County Cork.

A new primary school may also be required in Milltown area of Dublin, which has long been sought by local campaigners.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Joan Burton were among a group of five Ministers who announced details of the plan at Scoil Bhríde in Blanchardstownin Dublin on Tuesday afternoon.

Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan said it was a scandal that prefabs have been used for so long to accommodate pupils.

She said the new investment plan will see an end to prefab use in more than 600 schools.

“By 2021, the use of prefabs for more than two years will be a rare exception. This building programme will deliver on that commitment,” she said.

In all, there will be 310 major building projects over the next six years.

The Government estimates that it will spend almost €3 billion on these projects, as well on acquiring land, investing in digital technology and other maintenance works.

The bulk of the funding will come from the public purse, and the remainder from public-private partnerships (PPPs).

The announcement comes against a backdrop of high birth rates, which will see the numbers attending primary school rising until 2018, after which they are forecast to reduce.

This peak figure of 574,000 primary school places was last seen in the early 1980s.

Secondary school enrolments are also projected to rise until 2025, at which point numbers are set to reach in excess of 400,000 pupils for the first time in the history of the State.

In all, the school building plan will provide for 19,000 additional primary school places and 43,000 additional secondary school places over the next six years.

A total of 156 of the major building works will be at primary-level, while 124 will be at second-level.

An additional 30 special school projects are included in the overall figure.

Birth rate

The Republic had the highest birth rate in the European Union, latest figures show.

There were 14.4 babies born per 1,000 residents in the State last year, compared to an EU average of 10.1.

The provision of school places over the coming years is based on migration and fertility projections.

The Department of Education is projecting a return to net inward migration by 2019, and a gradual decline in fertility.

Notwithstanding the State’s high birth rate in EU terms, the fertility rate - the average expected number of children a woman is likely to have in her lifetime - has been falling in recent years.

While the birth rate reached 2.09 in 2010, it fell to 1.95 in 2014.

Under the department’s projections, it is likely to reach a level of 1.8 by 2024 and remain fairly constant from that point onwards.

In the meantime, the number of additional children born over recent years is posing a challenge for pre-school, health and education services.

* The Department of Education's website contains details of the 310 building projects  and a  list of new schools