O’Keeffe underspends on schools by €140m

MORE than €1 million targeted for school buildings went unspent every working day last month, putting Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe €140m behind targets on capital spending this year.

The minister promised last month – after it emerged he only spent €455m of his €841m capital budget up to the end of September – that his department plans to spend its allocation for the year. At that stage, it was €112m or 19% behind the planned €568m spend for the first nine months of 2009.

But the situation has worsened a month later, with only €68m of the €96m budgeted for capital projects in October paid out. The additional €28m underspend brings the total underspend against targets to 21.2%, and leaves Mr O’Keeffe €140m short of the €664m he had expected to spend up to the end of last month.