Teachers and pupils in up to 10 primary schools have been advised not to attend school this morning because of safety concerns over asbestos in the buildings.
They have been warned by the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), which claims remedial work on the schools has not been completed. The outgoing INTO general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole, wrote to the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, on Friday outlining the concerns of teachers in the schools, in Carlow, Kilkenny, Limerick and Galway.
Work to remove asbestos - which in certain circumstances can cause cancer - has started in most of the schools but has not been completed, according to Senator O'Toole.
A spokeswoman for the INTO said in one school in Borris, Co Carlow, work was completed but live wires were left exposed and could pose a danger to children. No one from the Department of Education was available for comment yesterday.
Ms Angela Dunne, an INTO district representative in Carlow and Kilkenny, who has been dealing with the issue, said no child or teacher should be expected to teach in a school where there was any threat from asbestos.
She said pupils would be advised not to attend the schools but it was up to their parents to make the final decision. "There seems to have been no forward planning about any of this. People have just been arriving at schools to carry out the work without any warning," she said.
The Department of Education announced a plan to remove the material from schools earlier this year. It pointed out that providing the material is not disturbed it does not pose a danger.
The number of the 3,100 primary schools in the State with asbestos is hard to estimate, according to sources. Generally the older the building the more likely it is to have asbestos. Removing it is time consuming and large parts of schools have to be sectioned off when the work is being carried out.