Projects for votes claim is denied

FORMER Education Minister Dr Michael Woods has said he did nothing wrong in adding projects to the school buildings programme in the run-up to last year’s general election.

Opposition parties have accused the Government of buying votes with false promises of building projects, after provision of funding set out in letters to schools last year never transpired. Documents from the Department of Education, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show unease among officials early last year. They expressed concern over efforts by Dr Woods as then Education Minister to expand the building programme they had set out, despite having only €153 million to spend.

He claimed that the addition of schools in expectation of funds being transferred from other departments was normal practice.