The Department of Education has cut spending on prefabs for schools by €14m.

Education minister Batt O'Keeffe said, "This year, my department expects to make a €14m saving on last year but we're still spending far too much on renting prefabricated classrooms. I'm determined to tackle these costs."

Last year, the department spent €53m on renting prefabricated accommodation.

O'Keeffe said the cuts were made by negotiations with suppliers and by putting more emphasis on building extensions to schools.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) hailed the news as the first positive step in the current controversy surrounding the use of prefabs for classrooms.

"The department seems to be finally spending less on prefabs and putting more emphasis on creating new buildings. This is a hugely welcome initiative given the rising demand for school accommodation," said a spokeswoman.

O'Keeffe also hit out at previous opposition criticism of the prefab scheme: "Our €614m allocation is seven times more than the opposition parties' investment in the school-building programme when they were last in power."

Department of Education information released this summer to Fine Gael showed almost 400 schools were paying up to €50,000 a year to rent prefabs and 180 schools were paying rent of €50,000 to €100,000 a year to private companies. Fine Gael's Brian Hayes labelled the costs a "scandalous waste of money".