Thomas Byrne
Question:412. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position with regard to increasing the mandatory school going age to 17 years. [41136/19]
View answerTuesday, 8 October 2019
Questions (412)
Written answers
As the Deputy may be aware, my Department has developed and is currently consulting on the draft Blueprint for the Development of Education and Welfare Services which, for the first time will provide a policy platform to secure and further sustain this valuable work.
As part of this Blueprint a number of key action areas where development is required were identified. In this regard a substantive area of action in this policy relates to the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 which lays out the both the minimum and maximum school going age. My Department has responsibility for the implementation of this Act and will examine the legislation along with input from all relevant stakeholders in order to consider how it can be updated to to reflect the current context and best practice in supporting educational outcomes for children and young people. Consideration of the appropriateness and applicability of the current mandatory school going age will form part of this review.