With one month to go to the end of the year, the Department of Education has yet to spend a quarter of its capital budget.
The Department was granted a record €841m to spend on school buildings and other capital projects this year, but €213m has yet to be spent.
No other Government Department with a significant capital budget is this far behind.
Departments are allowed to carry up to 10% of their budget over into the next year.
This means that up to €129m of money voted for school buildings and other education infrastructure may have to be returned unspent.
The Department of Education says unprecedented savings in the cost of projects, up to 30%, is the reason for the shortfall.
Department officials have also told an Oireachtas Committee that teething problems with a new tendering process have caused delays with getting projects on-site.
