The company which built 42 schools at risk of immediate closure due to serious safety fears has refused to accept any responsibility for the issue — claiming Government inspectors now examining the crisis are to blame.

Education Minister Joe McHugh has called for an immediate review of all Department of Education files to clarify when exactly officials first learned of the Celtic Tiger-era schools safety problems.

State agencies have been told by TDs and senators they must find a resolution to the non-payment of up to €20m owed to contractors on a public-private partnership (PPP) school building project.

The Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn today announced that 20 new primary schools and 20 new post-primary schools are to be established in the next six years.

Almost 1,000 schools will receive €120m in funding to upgrade their facilities next summer, it was confirmed today.

More than €2bn was spent on school building projects between 2000 and 2005, according to a report published by the Department of Education today.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey has announced plans to invest €343m this year in a school-building programme, a €20m increase in the funding allocated in the Book of Estimates.