Anger over unspent building fund money

EDUCATION Minister Batt O’Keeffe was unable to guarantee yesterday that millions of building money allocated for school buildings would be used for other capital projects if it is not spent by the end of the year.

The revelation that €112 million – or one-fifth – of the €568m the Department of Education was due to have been spent on capital projects so far this year has not yet been spent drew anger from teachers and school managers yesterday.

The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) said the under-spend puts 4,000 jobs at risk and could cost the Exchequer €200m.