A package of €36 million in education spending cuts has been agreed as Government Ministers struggle to meet their spending cuts targets.
The Irish Times has learnt that some of the cutbacks, finalised by the Department of Education yesterday, will affect disadvantaged students.
Some €6 million is to be cut from planned initiatives to reduce the school drop-out rate, and €5 million from programmes aimed at attracting socio-economically disadvantaged school-leavers to third level.
A further €3.8 million is to be cut from adult education courses.
The €36 million package will bring the Department's projected savings to €52 million, as demanded by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.
An increase in third-level charges was announced last month, a move that will raise €16 million.
Other education cuts include: €6 million in in-service teacher courses; €6.2 million in IT research and development; €5 million in structural reform in the Department; €2 million in second-level building, and €1.3 million in "miscellaneous" cutbacks.
The Department warned last night that close monitoring and control of education expenditure would still be needed to comply with the 2002 budget provision.
A spokeswoman said the savings arose from a slower than anticipated rate of development of various initiatives and new programmes in the education sector.
"None of the adjustments outlined will result in a reduction in current levels of service," she said.
Meanwhile, a standoff has developed between two Government Ministers over who should bear the brunt of cutbacks in the roads budget.
The Environment Minister, Mr Cullen, and the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, are in dispute over an €82 million cut demanded by Mr McCreevy.
Of the €300 million in cuts sought by the Finance Minister at the end of July, €82 million was to come from Environment.
Transport was one of the few Government Departments to be spared.
However, Mr Cullen is insisting that, as the responsibility for roads had been transferred to the new Department of Transport, that Department should take a major portion of the hit.
Mr Cullen is willing to take €32 million in cuts, but he wants the balance of €50 million to come from the Department of Transport.
The issue has been the subject of tense negotiations between officials from the two Departments and the Department of Finance.
The Department of Transport had been ring-fenced by Mr McCreevy, said a Department source, as infrastructure development was seen as priority.
This year €1.1 billion has been earmarked for roads development.
The source said that the Department of the Environment view was that Transport should take some of the cuts.
"I don't see this being resolved for some time yet," he added.
An Environment spokesman said the matter was linked to the realignment of the functions of the Department, following the establishment of a new Department of Transport after the election.
Meanwhile, the Department of Defence has also to produce plans for another €10 million in cutbacks.
A spokesman said the Department was having serious difficulty in coming up with the amount required.