€7.5m spent sending reports to schools

FIGURES showing that more than €7.5 million has been spent in five years to send Department of Education reports and other publications to schools have sparked a row between Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe and the opposition.

Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes accused the minister of squandering the money and being more concerned with sending reports around the country by courier than acting on them.

The Department of Education said last night it had changed policy, last month, to reduce printing and distribution costs by putting all publications on its website rather than sending them out to schools. However, this may be varied in some exceptional circumstances to be considered on a day-to-day basis, a spokesperson said.