School minor works grant returns

Joe Lyons could not have been more pleased to hear about a school maintenance fund being restored after discovering a leaking roof when pupils returned from their mid-term break this week at Ballybrown National School outside Limerick City.

The minor works grant normally given to the country’s 3,300 primary schools every year was suspended by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn because of pressure on his limited capital budget to build schools in areas of growing population.

So news that the €28m scheme is being restored for this year at least received wide welcome yesterday, as did the announcement of a summer works scheme that will allow primary and second-level schools apply to a €40m fund to do electrical works, window replacements, roof repairs or other projects during school holidays next year.