Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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This is a specific issue. I want to know what the Minister intends to do in a general sense in terms of absenteeism. The school to which I refer is a second level college under the auspices of the Dublin Vocational Education Committee and the student is doing her junior certificate. The statistics are stark. In 2002, this student came into the college and was absent 90 days in that year. In 2003, she was absent for 121 days and up to Christmas 2004 she was absent for 60 days. That is 271 days out of 334 days she should have been in school, an absentee rate of over 80%. That situation has continued over three years, through first, second and third year.

The student is currently in junior certificate class, when she is present in the school, and should be sitting the examination this year, yet the attendance roll for this girl is appalling. The staff have done everything in their power to try to get the young girl to attend school. It has initiated 21 different interventions. It has contacted the National Educational Welfare Board and I am aware educational welfare officers have done their best, but there has been no success in ensuring this young lady goes to school.

What does the Minister for Education and Science propose to do about this matter? Everybody is totally frustrated and at their wits end. The student is very bright but she does not go to school. That is in breach of all the rules and regulations of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, but that Department does not appear to have an opinion on the matter. The school brought the problem to its attention and gave the whole appalling file to the Minister not long ago, but it has not received a response. What does the Minister intend to do about an appalling situation where a youngster is unable to avail of an education?

The situation regarding the student is dire and one can imagine the impact it has on other students. They might say that this student is not attending school, nobody is doing anything about it and they might as well mitch from school. As a result, the attendance levels in that school are deteriorating because no action is being taken.

We were told the National Educational Welfare Board, which replaced the role of the attendance officers and the Garda, would focus on ensuring that the emphasis would not be on penalising the student but on dealing with the parents. What action has been taken to ensure that the parents of that student will send her to school? I would welcome the Department of Education and Science giving an opinion and letting the school know the action it intends to take, how it can be supportive, whether it intends to fine the parent — under the legislation the parent could be put in jail — or whether it has some plan. The Department is standing idly by.

The 23 vocational schools in Dublin had a meeting recently at which it was revealed that they are all suffering greatly from absenteeism. Last year's statistics from the National Educational Welfare Board show that there was approximately 25% prolonged absenteeism. It was revealed that 20 days in the year, one month's schooling, was the norm in disadvantaged areas. There was a somewhat lower level in middle class areas but the figure was high also.

Students are supposed to be in full-time education up to the age of 16. This youngster is much younger than that and she has not had any decent education for the past three years. I want an answer to this issue and to the whole question of absenteeism, which is fairly rampant throughout many areas of Dublin. I am sure there is a problem in country areas also.

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Costello for raising this serious matter on the Adjournment. On behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, I will reply.

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 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 overall authorised staffing complement is 94, comprising 16 HQ and support staff, five regional managers, 11 senior educational welfare officers and 62 educational welfare officers. I understand that some staff vacancies exist at present but that the board is in the process of making appointments which will bring the service delivery staff to its authorised complement.

At this stage of its development, the aim of the board is to provide a service to the most disadvantaged areas, including areas designated under the Government's RAPID programme and most at-risk groups. Five regional teams have been established with bases in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford and an educational welfare service is now available, for the first time, in the cities of Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny. A total of 12 towns with significant school-going populations, 11 of which are designated under the Government's RAPID programme, also now have an educational welfare officer allocated to them. These towns are Dundalk, Drogheda, Navan, Athlone, Carlow, Wexford, Bray, Clonmel, Tralee, Ennis, Sligo and Letterkenny. In addition, the board will follow up on urgent cases nationally.

It is recognised that the difficulties experienced in disadvantaged areas cannot be solved by one agency acting alone. Education is but one of the many needs of the people living in these areas. The board is working in close co-operation with other services from the education, health and justice areas so that children in need of special support are identified very early in their lives and followed up in a multi-disciplinary way. I have no doubt this service will help prevent children and young people becoming involved in delinquent and anti-social behaviour in the future.

There are a range of schemes, initiatives and services dealing with educational disadvantage at primary and post-primary level. These include the school completion programme, the visiting teacher service for Travellers and the home-school-community liaison scheme. Each of these schemes contributes in a positive way to promoting the education of children and young people.

The board consults schools, teachers, parents and others in regard to its services and has established a school implementation group to advise on its working arrangements with schools. The board has also moved to provide a service for families who decide to have their children educated in places other than recognised schools. The first assessments of education provided in places other than recognised schools have been carried out by three assessors appointed for this purpose. Work is continuing on the establishment of the register for 16 and 17 year olds who leave school to enter employment. The board also ensures that information concerning the Act and the work of the board generally is made available to schools, parents and others as soon as possible. An introductory letter was issued to all schools in March 2004.

Guidelines were issued by the NEWB to all primary and post-primary schools on 26 January 2005 on reporting student absences. The guidelines provide step-by-step advice on how and when school attendance returns should be made and how the new website, www.schoolreturn.ie, can be used by schools to comply with their legal obligations to report student absences to the board.

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. The percentage increase 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 during the year.

In the summer of 2004 the board received the first comprehensive data returns from the schools which are assisting it to keep the level of need for the new service in certain areas under review. I will outline the principal findings of the report. Attendance is lower at post-primary level than at primary level. At primary level every student misses 11 days, on average, of a total of 183 days. At post-primary level every student misses 15 days, on average, of a total of 167 days. One in ten students is absent for 20 days or more at primary level. Almost one in five students is absent for 20 days or more at post-primary level. The rates I have outlined are similar to those in England.

I appreciate that the reply I am giving to the Deputy is of a general nature.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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It does not address the issue I have raised.

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I will bring the serious and specific issue the Deputy has raised to the attention of the Minister for Education and Science and report back to him in that regard.