Schools angry over €1m wasted on applications

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.