Minister of State Alan Kelly has suggested that subvention for private secondary schools may be abolished in December's budget.
The North Tipperary representative says that in principle the days of spending that much money on private fee-paying schools had come to an end.
Private schools get an estimated €95.6 million from the State, made up mostly of teachers’ salaries.
The schools raise an estimated €100 million from fees.
The Department of Education has carried out an audit of 55 private schools and a report has been drawn up.
It's believed the Department is considering increasing the teacher-pupil ratio in fee paying schools as this would lead to a reduction in State funding.
