42 schools built by Western Building Systems were found to have structural defects.

Health Minister Simon Harris does not have the power to stop the firm at the centre of the school building controversy from building a new hospital unit.

The Government has admitted almost half of the schools found last year to have serious fire and structural safety problems will still not have the faults repaired by the start of the new school year.

The Department of Education paid €1.5m this year to a construction company with which it remains in legal dispute over alleged safety risks at a series of schools.

Permanent remediation works on 22 schools will begin over the summer, with representatives from the schools affected asked to attend the Department of Education offices in Tullamore and Dublin next month for an ‘information session’ on the planned remediation programme.

The Department of Education and Skills is suing a company over alleged defects in a €5m "rapid build" school which had to be closed for part of a term last year to allow temporary remedial works costing €1m to be carried out.

Education Minister Joe McHugh has warned that building failures of the kind that caused the closure of a number of schools around the country and remedial works at others may warrant criminal investigation.

The number of schools that require protective works prior to reopening after the midterm break has risen to 17, while question marks remain over a further 13.

Our school buildings crisis shows what happens when government is unwilling to tackle an issue until it becomes too big, or too dangerous, to ignore, writes Michael Clifford

The case for a widespread audit of Celtic Tiger-era buildings has never been as strong, writes Michael Clifford.

WHEN the whistle finally blew on Alan Shatter’s Cabinet career it was greeted by audible intakes of breath followed by a disbelieving silence in the Dáil.