Nearly 6,000 construction workers may miss out on funding that had been pledged to retrain and get them back to work after the previous government 'made a mistake'.

Education and Skills Minister Ruairi Quinn said he is concerned that millions of euro will have to be returned to Europe unspent.

In June of last year the Fianna Fáil/Green Government applied for retraining funding for 9,000 named unemployed construction workers.

The European Commission proposed plans earlier in the month that would see Ireland receive €35m from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help 5,987 redundant construction workers across Ireland.

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It was hoped that the money would be used to help ex-employees from over 3,500 small enterprises.

The application came after more than 9,000 redundancies from small and medium sized enterprises operating in the construction sector. The dismissals were a direct consequence of the financial and economic crisis.

Monies from the fund must be used within 24 months of the initial application, or returned to Brussels. However final approval is not likely until the end of the year, leaving six months before all monies must be spent.

But the money can only be spent on the named individuals - and Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty says that's where the problem lies.

Today the Government admitted that 'maladministration' has undermined the rolling out of the funds.

Some 12 months has passed since the application was submitted and it is understood that the individuals the funds were pledged to have not yet been contacted.

Nor has the Department conducted a detailed assessment of the workers training needs.

Minister Quinn has admitted that this mistake in administration could hinder the chance of funding and admitted: "What precisely we can do at this point in time, I'm not sure."

(LB)