Schools angry over €1m wasted on applications
- Published: 10 October 2008
By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent
THE €1 million-plus bill incurred by schools on building work applications that were never considered by the department has sparked outrage among school manager organisations and principals, who have said they would rather have spent the money on classroom resources.
The money was spent on technical reports in support of applications from almost 1,200 of the 1,284 schools which sought funding under the 2008 Summer Works Scheme (SWS) in September last year.
The figures, provided by the Department of Education to the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal an average payment of €782, with almost 70 schools facing bills of €2,000 despite their applications not being considered after previous education minister Mary Hanafin cancelled the scheme in last December's budget.
The Joint Managerial Body (JMB), who represents the boards of 400 secondary schools, said the figures do not even take account of schools whose builders told them they would incorporate their fee into the overall bill if the application was successful, but who have come back looking for payment since the scheme was axed for this year.
"Even if schools qualify for funding in 2009, those who already paid fees won't see it back until nearly two years after spending it," said JMB general secretary Ferdia Kelly.
The minister has insisted that schools will not necessarily be at a loss for any spending on technical reports which accompanied SWS applications last year, as they can be considered for the 2009 scheme.
"Since the Summer Works Scheme was introduced, more than 3,000 projects, costing over €300 million, have been completed. With so many smaller projects having been completed over the past few years, the particular emphasis in 2008 is on providing sufficient school places in developing areas," a Mr O'Keeffe spokesperson said.
But that is little consolation to Matt Power, principal of Ennis Community College, whose school paid €2,000 to an engineer who helped compile an SWS application. The school sought funding to renovate its nine toilet blocks in the submission to the Department of Education.
"We've had to close some toilets because they're so damp, which means student must often walk from one part of the school to another to use the toilet. We could have put the €2,000 to good use replacing our 10-year-old computers or providing break-out areas for students," he said.
George O'Callaghan, chief executive of the County Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC), which had five other schools under its management seek funding under the SWS, called on Mr O'Keeffe to ensure similar money to that previously spent is made available.
"The scheme allowed us to refurbish schools on a phased basis and the relatively small sizes of most projects meant schools gave a lot of work to local companies," he said.
William Stuart, principal of Taney National School in the south Dublin suburb of Dundrum, is similarly angry about the €2,420 he was billed by the architect who helped with their application to replace the flat roof on their 40-year-old original building in which half the 450 pupils are taught.
"We could have spent it on education equipment, we might have got three or four computers," he said.
Instead, the school depends on the fundraising of parents.
"They raise around €7,000 a year and this, along with contributions and occasional charges, mean our parents provide the same amount of money to run the school as the Department of Education," he said.
ends
