Primary schools 'on the breadline'

PARENTS are being forced to pay an education tax because of shortfalls of up to one-third in primary school funding from the Government, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has claimed.

A union survey found that for every euro schools must spend on heating, lighting, insurance and other running costs, only 75c is provided by the Department of Education.

In some cases, schools are having to raise more than one-third of their annual budgets themselves, involving sums of up to €15,000.