Education Welfare Service.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 November 2004

Thursday, 25 November 2004

Questions (83)

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

80 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Education and Science if the Education Welfare Board will be allocated the €6.1 million it needs in 2005 to employ 95 new staff, 87 of whom will work as education welfare officers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30528/04]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Science (Ms Hanafin)

The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 established the National Educational Welfare Board as the single national body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The general functions of the board are to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education.

To discharge its responsibilities, the board is developing a nationwide service that is accessible to schools, parents-guardians and others concerned with the welfare of young people. For this purpose, educational welfare officers, EWOs, are being appointed and deployed throughout the country to provide a welfare-focused service to support regular school attendance and discharge the board's functions locally.

The budget which has been allocated to the National Educational Welfare Board for 2005 is €7.8 million, an increase of €1.3 million or 20% on the 2004 allocation. My Department has already conveyed approval to the NEWB for the filling of a further ten educational welfare officer posts bringing the authorised staffing for the NEWB from 84 to 94. These additional posts will enable the board to further roll-out its services at local level around the country.

The percentage increase being allocated to the board for 2005 is more than double that for the Education Vote as a whole and this provision will enable the board to continue to develop its services in 2005. I will be keeping the issue of the NEWB's staffing under review in the light of the roll-out of services and any further proposals that the board may put to me in relation to clearly identified priority needs.