The Health and Safety Authority is investigating conditions in 34 primary schools and it has been confirmed that it has issued "improvement notices" in about six cases.
Most of the complaints relate to poor sanitary facilities, overcrowding, potentially dangerous electrical wiring and asbestos removal, it has said. Once the improvement notices are issued, schools are given between three and six months to upgrade facilities to a reasonable level.
The HSA says that it has been in contact with school boards of management and the Department of Education to ensure that the improvement works are completed.
With so many primary schools struggling to cope with inadequate accommodation, many are now turning to the HSA to put pressure on the Department of Education.
Last week, a Co Kildare school contacted the authority because of severe overcrowding. The HSA is also expected to be contacted about conditions in a Co Westmeath school.
The involvement of the HSA follows the recent education cutbacks. The Estimates cut funding for the primary school-building programme by 4 per cent. Many schools are now finding that plans for new buildings or modernisation programmes have been delayed, despite pre-election commitments that work would begin shortly.
Yesterday, the Labour Party said: "The need for the intervention of the HSA in some dilapidated schools around the country makes the cut in funding for primary school buildings all the more inexplicable and obscene."
Its education spokeswoman, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said: "The fact that primary schools have to turn to the HSA to investigate their working conditions in this day and age is outrageous. It appears to be the case that the Government does not believe the school when they raise the appalling conditions they have to work in."
Ms O'Sullivan said that she also knew of cases in which schools have had to turn to the local environmental health officers to have the conditions in their school assessed. She added: "There are still many schools without adequate heating, toilet facilities and classroom capacity, with many pupils attending damp, rat-infested schools."
The Department of Education points out that an annual maintenance grant - worth about €10,000 a year to a 500-pupil school - is available for all emergency work. The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, has said there is no reason why schools should be rat-infested when funding for emergency maintenance work is readily available. The Department points out that emergency "top-up" grants are also available.
The Minister hopes to finalise a five-year school modernisation programme with the Department of Finance next year.