Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
GOVERNMENT IS INVESTING in school buildings and upgrading infrastructure in buildings owned by third parties which could be sold on in spite of this investment due to a lack of legal agreements in place, according to a new report.
The latest report from Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy shows that the Department of Education spent €4 billion on new schools and school extensions between 2012 and 2019.
In 2019 alone, some €665 million was spent on capital works projects, of which €69 million related to site acquisitions.
There are around 4,000 schools in the state, which accommodate more than 900,000 students, but just 13% of those are on Government-owned or Education and Training Board (ETB) sites.
The majority of the remaining schools are run by patron-bodies such as church organisations. The Department, however, provides maintenance funding for those schools.
In the report published this week by the C&AG, he warns that a lack of legal agreements with those patron-bodies leaves the Department at risk of losing those schools despite significant investment in recent years if the patron-body was to sell the buildings.
He writes: “An estimated 87% of the school estate is on land that is not owned by the Minister or ETBs.
“Despite advice from the Chief State Solicitor’s Office (CSSO) in 2009, and the expenditure of over €3 billion in major capital works in schools since 2012, the Department has not implemented legal agreements to provide for the continued use of funded buildings as educational facilities.
“As a result, there is a risk that the State’s investment may not be safeguarded should the circumstances of the patron change or the site is sold to a third party.”
McCarthy also states that these agreements should be put in place as “a matter of urgency”.
It notes 162 projects have been completed since 2012 on patron-owned sites, including ten Public Private Partnership projects, reaching a total investment is €847 million.
“The absence of legal agreements between the Department and the relevant school authorities relating to these and earlier projects creates a risk that the Minister’s investment is not currently safeguarded should circumstances change for the patron body.”
The report adds: “A further 32 projects have been completed on ETB owned sites with a total investment of €271 million. The absence of a legal agreement in these cases is not a concern because disposal of ETB assets requires the Minister’s sanction.”
TheJournal.ie contacted the Department of Education for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The quality of decision making by our political representatives over the years is very very poor indeed. Why are they so determined to make such a royal stones of everything in the country?
@David Corrigan: while I completely agree with you that our politicians are pretty much useless, at the end of the day they’re only there to answer the questions and take the heat. The real issue is how incompetent the civil servants are, they constantly making horrendous, idiotic decisions that affects every one of us on a daily basis but they’re never held to account for any of these decisions like any other normal worker in this country would be
@Stephen Lynch: as a teacher in a school with overcrowded classrooms, who is constantly being handed pointless “how to teach” booklets designed by civil servants paid twice my salary in a department bursting at the seams with employees…… I couldn’t agree more.
@Lorraine Mac Rory: Which civil servants are you referring to & what booklets? Genuine question
@Caddyshack: Exhibit A: The document outlining how to calculate students’ grades.
@Caddyshack: NCSEs guidelines include how to establish and open ASD special classes is a good example. Gimme 30 seconds, a post it and a crayon and I’ll write you something more useful.
@Stephen Lynch: the civil service don’t live in the real world, thats the major problem. No matter what happens they’ll keep their jobs.
@Stephen Lynch: Your comments here are absolutely correct, The Civil Servants in Each Dept. make all of the decisions, – Almost All decisions are off the wall, especially when it comes to Finance,- they have no idea, of course it is not their money. Not many Ministers appear capable of standing up against these Heads , they allow them to bully all the time.
@ruairi: those booklets are nothing to do with how to teach
@Graham Manning: obviously a riveting read Graham?
@Caddyshack: Assessment is generally considered to be a part of teaching.
@Caddyshack: my post it? Abso…feckin…loutely. Mad plot twists
These sites should be requisitioned in the national interest. Particularly in light of the churches’ poor performance compensating victims of abuse and their use of many of these sites to imprison many children and unmarried mothers.
@Mocheolthu: That’s just common sense. Unfortunately it would take courage to remove patron bodies and we’ve not had a courageous politician since O’Malley introduced free secondary school in the late 60s without informing the rest of the cabinet. Too late for the cabinet to rescind because O’Mallley had made it public first.
Take the land from the churches and give it to the school. Small change after the dirty deal Bertie did to pay for all the sex scandals.
We do have a lot of cooks in the kitchen with education, that’s for sure.
That said, as a teacher I’ve worked in a Catholic school, a private school and ETB schools. As different as they all may appear from the outside, they’re all quite similar.
They all want to get as many students as possible to attend their school, and they want the best for the kids too. That’s been my experience, regardless of school ethos or background.
Many, many children without school placements and this is her biggest worry. My nephew’s parents just spent €7k to get him into a school after numerous refusal to enrol appeals. He’s 17 in TY because that was the only place he could get after years of no school placement. Our education system needs to focus more on the children’s needs and less on the teachers’ union demands and business side of things.
@Mary Morrisey: how have the teachers’ unions impacted on your child getting a place in a school?
I’m a teacher, and I’m aware that not only do the public have a general dislike for teachers, they also don’t generally support the unions either.
I don’t know how we have stood in the way of your child getting a school placement though?
Perhaps look to the Department or school policies for blame.
@Mary Morrisey: teaching unions have had precisely zero to do with what you just highlighted. Maybe aim at the appropriate target???
How did she become a minister. She is way out of her depth. Questions must be asked of Micheal Martin and how he picked these ministers.
@Ed: In what way is she “way out of her depth” Ed? What would you be doing differently?
@Mick Hyland: I am not pretending to be a minister nor have any desire to be one so no point asking me what I’d do differently. The fiasco over the leaving cert results is all hers.
All schools should be transferred to state ownership. All patrons should be removed from education. All ETBs should be ended.
@Graham Manning: that’s a little more complicated than that
@Caddyshack: agreed. Still a good idea and would save a fortune.
This does not only apply to church owned schools. Transferring the ownership to the school would not properly protect the state investment. May be legally difficult to impose conditions to protect the state investment after the investment is made but a way has to be found. Social housing owned by Housing Bodies may be in a similar situation as the these bodies are privately owned entities….in short what happens to the social housing if Housing Body goes bust?
This is incredible or is it! A similar situation appears to exist with social housing bodies… Not the maintenance ….but what happens the housing if a housing body goes bust. Housing bodies are private legal entities supported financially by the taxpayer/ state.
have your say