Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 June 2004
162 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of prosecutions relating to school attendance since the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board on 1 December 2003; the number of such prosecutions in 2003 up to the establishment of the board; the number of such prosecutions in 2002, 2001 and 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19559/04]
View answerThe Education (Welfare) Act 2000 became fully operational with effect from 5 July 2002. This Act provides for the repeal of the previous school attendance legislation under which responsibility for the enforcement of school attendance rested with four local authorities in the cities of Dublin, Cork and Waterford and the Garda for the remainder of the country.
Under the Act, the National Educational Welfare Board was established to ensure every child attends school regularly or otherwise receives an education. To discharge its responsibilities, the board is developing a nationwide service to provide welfare focused services to children, families and schools. It has appointed a chief executive officer, directors of corporate services and educational welfare services and the necessary support and service delivery staff.
At this stage of its development, the aim of the board is to provide a service to the most disadvantaged areas, including areas designated under the Government's RAPID programme and most at-risk groups. Five regional teams have now been established with bases in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford and an educational welfare service is now available, for the first time, in the cities of Limerick, Cork and Kilkenny. Twelve towns with significant schoolgoing populations, 11 of which are designated under the Government's RAPID programme, also now have an educational welfare officer allocated to them. These towns are Dundalk, Drogheda, Navan, Athlone, Carlow, Wexford, Bray, Clonmel, Tralee, Ennis, Sligo and Letterkenny. In addition, the board will follow up on urgent cases nationally.
The Act provides that a parent may be prosecuted where the board forms the opinion that he or she is failing in his or her duty towards a child's education. This is a step of last resort after every possible step to improve attendance has been taken and where the board feels that a prosecution will bring about change. I am informed by the board that the practice and procedures for taking legal proceedings are being developed at present and it is intended that they will be in place from the commencement of the next school year.
