Ms Sarah O'Connell:

Based on my experience with my son and that of other parents, the school needs to report absences to Tusla once the number exceeds 20 days. As soon as there is a valid reason for those absences, and in this case there would be an illness, that is all Tusla is concerned about. That is its role. In our case, the educational welfare officer has actually been very supportive that we have all of our documentation in place. Unfortunately, in some cases, the schools are kind of arguing with Tusla and saying they want X, Y and Z.