Vol. 528 No. 2
218 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science the person or body responsible for ensuring that children who sleep on the streets or in hostels go to school and receive a basic education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29835/00]
The School Attendance Act, 1926, with minor amendments, is the legislative framework for compulsory school attendance in the State. Under existing legislation, school attendance committees in certain parts of Dublin, Dún Laoghaire, Cork and Waterford provide the school attendance service. In the remainder of the country, the Garda Síochána provides the service.
The Deputy will be aware that the Education (Welfare) Act was passed by the Oireachtas this year. The purpose of that Act is to provide for a new structure to address problems of poor school attendance. The Act provides for the establishment of a National Educational Welfare Board and a nation-wide educational welfare service with a view to ensuring that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives an adequate level of education. That board will be charged with the employment of educational welfare officers, who will be deployed locally to treat problems of poor school attendance, with particular focus on areas of disadvantage. That Act also provides for the transfer of all existing school attendance officers to the National Educational Welfare Board upon the commencement of the appropriate section of the Act.
As a first step in the implementation of the Act, I am establishing a designate board on a non-statutory basis for an interim period, to draw up detailed plans for implementing the various functions to be assigned to it under the Act. Following this interim period, the board will be put on a statutory footing and the various provision of the Act will be commenced as appropriate. It is envisaged that membership of the board would, as far as possible, mirror that of the final board.
I have requested nominations to the board from the education partners and relevant Government Departments. I expect to be in a position to establish the designate board in the near future.
