Department to spend €331m left in budget on capital works

THE Department of Education has slammed the brakes on school building projects in the last eight weeks but insists it will spend its remaining €331 million on capital projects by the end of the year.

Just €381m of its €712m capital allocation for 2010 was spent by the end of October, or €104m less than the €484m due to have been spent in the first 10 months.

But a further analysis of figures seen by the Irish Examiner show €48m, or 40%, of the €119.5m that was supposed to have been spent on primary and second-level schools since the end of August is still in the department’s accounts.

Two months ago, the department said €241m had been spent on the schools capital programme, €500,000 above target, and the €70m under spend at that point was mostly down to delays on third-level building works.

The latest data suggests a significant slowdown over the last two months in spending on vital building of new schools, extensions and refurbishments.

Delays on these, and other projects waiting years for funding, are likely to be worsened by major cuts to all Government capital spending in the next four years.

The department caught up on most of a similar under spend at this point last year but around €80m of its €841m capital budget for 2009 still went unspent last year.

Education Minister Mary Coughlan’s spokesman said she is still on course to use her entire capital allocation for 2010.

The spokesperson said a lot of invoices come in towards the end of the year and there are difficulties with many contractors going out of business and jobs having to be awarded to others who tendered, causing delays.

But we’re driving things on and fully intend to spend the money allocated,” he said.

Construction Industry Federation director general, Tom Parlon, said a further explanation offered – that the under spend also resulted from reduced tender prices – was disingenuous, saying this should have been factored into the budget.

“Is the department trying to imply that it has addressed all the country’s school building problems and there is no need to spend any more?

“I would imagine that communities that have been on waiting lists for up to 10 years for school upgrades will take particular issue with such a suggestion,” he said.

The Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland said it is shocking that half the department’s budget remains unspent when there is such high unemployment in construction and with more pressure looming for school space because of rising pupil numbers.

Labour Party education spokesman, Ruairí Quinn, said it makes sense to spend the allocated resources and put builders back to work to help end a situation where children are at school in buildings that are not fit for purpose and in prefabs and temporary structures costing millions of euro a year.

The budget for schools technology for the first 10 months was €14m above what was spent but Ms Coughlan announced this week that €24m is now available for equipment in primary schools, while a €32 million under spend so far this year on higher education capital has been attributed to delays issuing payments to colleges.