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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 12 Feb 2002

Vol. 548 No. 2

Written Answers. - School Absenteeism.

John Dennehy

Question:

435 Mr. Dennehy asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the number of second level students taking up part-time jobs during the school week; the extent to which this is happening; if his attention has been drawn to the increases in truancy rates in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4367/02]

My Department does not have data on the number of second level students taking up part-time jobs during the school week. I share the Deputy's concern about non-school attendance, caused by whatever reason. Due to the link between non-school attendance and early school leaving, my Department has initiated a programme comprising both legislative measures and special targeted initiatives to combat the problem of non-school attendance and early school leaving.

The recently enacted Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, replaced and reformed current school attendance legislation. It provides for the introduction of a comprehensive school attendance service with responsibility for school attendance being given to a newly established body, the National Educational Welfare Board. Its focus will be the provision of assistance and support, through locally based educational welfare officers, to schools and families rather than on penalties for non-attendance at school. The Act also includes specific measures for the early identification and support of children at risk of dropping out of school.

It provides measures designed specifically with early school leavers in mind. Section 29 provides that a young person – in most cases 16 and 17 year olds – may register with the National Educational Welfare Board if he or she leaves school before the 18th birthday. The board will then, following consultation with the young person, parents and others, prepare a plan for his or her continuing education and training. Once that is done the board will issue a certificate to the young person concerned. In addition, the Act provides that an employer cannot employ a young person unless he or she is the holder of a valid certificate. An employer is also obliged to inform the board within a month after a young person has been employed. The Act provides significant penalties for employers who breach these provisions. The overall thrust of the provisions is to place meaningful restrictions on the process whereby young people, who are encouraged by an immediate earning potential, to leave education and training and take up often low-skill work. The provisions do not prevent young people taking up employment but seek to ensure that a balance is struck between their employment rights and their future educational, training and social needs. My Department is in the process of implementing the Act.

The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996, precludes young people, between the ages of 16 and 18 and who are still at school, from working after 10 p.m. on any night when there is school the following day. My colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, has recruited an additional seven inspectors to assist with the enforcement of this legislation. In addition my Department currently supports two initiatives aimed at increasing the retention of pupils in school, namely the 8 to 15 early school leaver initiative and the stay in school retention initiative at second level. Significant funding has been made available by this Government under the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, to address the problem of early school leaving.
I have provided a total of €22.5 million for these school completion initiatives in 2002. I expect that this will be sufficient to facilitate a significant expansion that will focus on areas with the greatest pupil retention difficulties as identified through my Department's post-primary pupil database. In this regard, proposals are currently under consideration in my Department and I expect to be in a position to make a further announcement in relation to this matter shortly. The objective of preventing early school leaving is not a simple matter to resolve and, in order to have a real chance of success, the solution must be wide ranging and include strategies for identification, balancing of rights, statutory safeguards and school empowerment.
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