Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton said her department's deficit was 'north' of €500 million but insisted that extra money was needed to pay for the State’s education system. Speaking on RTÉ on Tuesday morning, Naughton said the deficit was “north” of €500 million but insisted that extra money was needed to pay for the State’s education system. Chambers is said to be drawing up proposals for an expenditure levy on other departments to fund the Department of Education deficit, set to be concluded in the next couple of weeks. Senior sources across Government are in agreement that the deficit must be accounted for and that extra money will be needed for the department. In previous years, such overspending has been addressed – in education and elsewhere – by the allocation of extra money outside of the budgetary cycle, known as a supplementary estimate.

Source: The Irish Times April 08, 2026 17:44 UTC