Hanafin defends Govt over primary-school funding
Education Minister Mary Hanafin is continuing to defend the Government's funding for education amid growing evidence that primary schools are facing a massive cash crisis.
A coalition of primary-school management bodies are due to outline the state of affairs to the Oireachtas education committee today.
They say the cost of running the average primary-school is ?23,000 higher than the funding provided by the Government.
As a result, virtually every school in the State has to hold fundraisers and ask parents to make donations in order to meet basic running costs.
A statement due to be read to the Oireachtas committee today says this is unacceptable given the prosperity of the country and the Government's claims to be developing a "knowledge economy".
However, speaking in Dublin today, Ms Hanafin rejected the criticism, saying she had already increased funding and was committed to doing so again in the coming years.
