Parents of truant children face rise in prosecutions [IrishTimes]
- Published: 13 December 2010
THERE HAS been an increase again this year in the number of prosecutions made against parents who fail to ensure their children attend school.
By the end of November, 91 summonses for non-attendance had been issued by the National Educational Welfare Board – 10 more than in all of last year.
The prosecutions refer to 61 children. The board said prosecution was a last resort in cases where no progress was made with the family.
The legal process begins with a school attendance notice, issued to the parents. So far in 2010, 379 of these notices have been issued in respect of 248 children.
To date, the board has issued 1,538 of these notices and of the 312 that proceeded to prosecution, 70 have resulted in conviction and 130 are still before the courts. The remainder were struck out, dismissed or withdrawn.
Michael Doyle, National Educational Welfare Board regional manager for north Leinster, said the increase in prosecutions had more to do with the board’s efficiency and effectiveness in dealing with cases than a rise in truancy.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
