Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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9. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to share school enrolment data with the Department of Social Protection; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45090/14]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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Approximately one in six children misses more than 20 days in school each year. We continue to have a significant problem with truancy. Under the law currently, a parent is not legally entitled to receive child benefit unless the child beneficiary is attending school. I want a tie-up between the Minister's Department and the Department of Social Protection whereby we could threaten to suspend child benefit payments where a child does not attend school. It is a far better use of resources than to tie up the National Educational Welfare Board and the courts in prosecuting parents.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I am happy to have my Department facilitate any request from the Department of Social Protection for data sharing to ensure the effective delivery of public services in a manner which is fully compliant with the requirements of the Data Protection Acts. Earlier this year, my officials met with the Department of Social Protection to explore how data on enrolments could be used for verification purposes in respect of social welfare payments, including for example continued payment of child benefit where children over 16 remain in full-time education. My officials are due to meet further with the Department of Social Protection on this matter.

I note that Deputy Naughten's specific concern is to use this process to address issues about children not going to school. I take that point and will respond further in reply to supplementary questions.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for her response and I am glad to see that officials from the two Departments are now meeting. That is all well and good in regard to children who are over the age of 16. However, school principals nationally must fill out and return 600,000 letters on a quarterly basis to be issued by the Department of Social Protection to parents asking them to verify that a son or daughter is still within the education system. Would it not make far better sense to use the available technology on school enrolment and the reporting mechanism to the National Educational Welfare Board, or NEWB, where a child misses 20 days from school? Where that could be linked up with the Department of Social Protection, it would eradicate the need to fill out 600,000 letters which constitute enough paper to cover the pitch at Croke Park two and a half times.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Our officials will meet with those of the Department of Social Protection in the near future. Educational Welfare Services, which was formerly known as NEWB, is the statutory body for school attendance and is under the remit of Tusla, which is in turn a body within the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. We are talking therefore about three Departments and perhaps need to engage with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs also. The failure of children to attend school is something the Government feels very strongly about across Departments. We must ensure that there is an effective mechanism to prevent children being deprived of their educational opportunities. My Department is willing to do everything possible in terms of data sharing to ensure that we have an effective system in that regard. I am willing to ensure that the matter is raised in discussions with officials from other Departments.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for her response. She has hit the nail on the head. The problem is that three Departments are involved - her own Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Social Protection. Everyone is passing the buck and saying it is an issue for someone else. The fact is that one in six children in our schools is missing more than 20 days a year and some Minister will have to take a leadership role in relation to that. I urge the Minister to take the lead in relation to this. We can make a significant impact on the issue of truancy in the State by linking up the information collected by the Departments of Education and Skills, Children and Youth Affairs, and Social Protection.

All we ask is that the law is enforced and that where parents fail to send their children to school, they are threatened with the suspension of child benefit payments. That is better than to drag them through the courts and ending up in a situation where children lose a year of school before orders can be made to force parents to return their children to the education system.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Educational welfare officers do a very good job to identify these situations and deal with them. Obviously, we have seen court cases and so on. I take the Deputy's point that we must ensure the best possible co-ordination among the three Departments and I undertake to ensure that the necessary discussions are instigated.