Education chiefs under fire as school building funds unspent [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 August 2010
MILLIONS of euro earmarked for much-needed school buildings have yet to be spent by the Department of Education, new figures reveal.
A budget of €578m has been allocated for school building projects but just €135m has been drawn down in the first six months of this year.
If this spending trend was to continue, the department could be forced into the embarrassing situation of handing unspent funds back to the Department of Finance.
A storm erupted last October among the 1,200 schools waiting on approval for building works when it emerged the department had only spent 52pc of its school building budget.
However, it is understood that most of the budget was allocated by the end of 2009.
Underspending was blamed on lower building costs, delays arising from a new form of public works contract, and the large number of relatively small projects in school buildings.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
