Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe could not give a firm commitment today to schools who have been promised extensions under the schools building programme.
Mr O'Keeffe was at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick announcing that the Department was signing off on €18m of funding for the start of a €100m extension plan to build better facilities for the training of primary school teachers.
Mr O'Keeffe will meet with officials of the Department of Education this week.
All aspects of the schools building programme will be examined then, he said, with a view to seeking extra funding under the National Development Plan, as well as looking at new initiatives for funding.
However, he warned that he would not be a 'hostage to fortune' and he is not going to tell schools they will get the go-ahead if he does not have the requisite funding in place, which the Department will have to bear at the end of the day.
In relation to promises already made to schools by the Department, he said these are on a priority list and the first available opportunity he has after he has gone through the school building programme, they will be given permission to proceed.
