The National Principals Forum is warning of a looming financial crisis in primary schools across the country.
73 per cent of over 500 principals surveyed do not expect to have enough funding for utility bills, with many schools raising concerns about their ability to heat their schools as the weather gets colder.
The Forum says schools get less than one euro per pupil per day to cover bills and are calling for more funding from the Government.
Primary school principal Simon Lewis says many are being forced to make difficult decisions to stretch their budget:
"It's a fairly cold October morning here and we still haven't switched the heat on because we're trying to go as far as we can without having to do that, even in the depths of winter. We shouldn't really be having to ration the heating in our schools, to ask children to wear extra layers and all the rest of it. I mean schools are a public service like any other Public Service".
