Hildegarde Naughton then took the vacancy in the Department of Education. As a school teacher, she also had a background in education. Now, only four months into the year, it’s predicted the Department of Education is going to run over budget by anything up to €700m. The minister spoke about making no apologies around the need to make sure the department is adequately funded, “meeting the needs of everyone”. The Department of Education knows well in advance how many schoolchildren are in the country, so it is not as unpredictable.

Source: Irish Independent April 06, 2026 10:36 UTC