Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 23 March 2017

Public Accounts Committee

2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 26 - Education and Skills

9:00 am

Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

Absolutely. In 2015, we got a Supplementary Estimate. We actually got a commitment earlier in the year that enabled us to allocate the money, which then was confirmed in the Supplementary Estimate at the end of the year. The Supplementary Estimate for the summer works scheme was of the range of €50 million in that year so we were able to fund activities under the scheme. The summer works scheme is a programme that we had to curtail a little bit in the depths of the downturn but we have been able to allocate around €40 million or €50 million per year in the past couple of years. It is an important way for schools to be able to work through and plan their own refurbishments. Unfortunately, we never have sufficient funds to fund every request under every one of the categories.