Speaking on Morning Ireland, Tom Moriarty, the principal of Adamstown Educate Together School in Lucan, Co Dublin, said that while the department had provided money for a modern school with state-of-the-art classrooms, it did not provide enough money for operational costs.

The Department of Education had chosen Adamstown for a model primary education project. Nevertheless, like all new schools, regardless of size, it was expected to open with a start-up grant of just €6,348.

“We hit the ground running at the beginning of September with approx €6,300 in our pockets,” Mr Moriarty said. “That money was there to cover all set-up costs for the school, including advertising for interviews prior to opening.”

The school applied to the department for further money to cover current day-to-day expenses, and received an advance on funding due in January. Now Mr Moriarty fears that by next Easter there will be no money left to fund the day-to-day running of the school.

Collette Kavanagh, principal of the Esker Educate Together School, said that her school did not have enough money to equip the classrooms.

“The grant is actually €6,348.69 and is the same for every single school, no matter what size it is. So if you are a two-teacher or a 12-teacher school - which is what we are - you get the same amount of money and it goes literally nowhere.

Fine Gael’s education spokesman, Brian Hayes, repeated his plea to Minister Mary Hanafin to set up an independent commission to look into capitation levels.

“Schools simply find it impossible to make ends meet and the crisis is that much sharper in start-up schools.

“That Adamstown is being held up as an example of how schools should be established is very disturbing and does not bode well for the future ... Minister Hanafin must know that if she cannot get it right in Adamstown, there is little chance of getting it right elsewhere.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said primary schools were now getting €95 more per pupil per year than they were in 2002. She pointed out that the capitation grant had been increased to €163.58 per child, and the ancillary services grant had risen to €145.50 per child, bringing the total value of both grants to nearly €310 per pupil. This amounts to €93,000 a year for a 300-pupil school.

The overall budget for the primary education sector - including teacher salaries, special needs and capital expenditure - exceeded €3 billion in 2007, she said. (Source: Dublin People)