Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of Sinn Féin I welcome the Bill to the House and again compliment our colleague, Senator Ó Ríordáin. It is a good Bill. I agree with Senator Gallagher. I was surprised to find this was not already covered by legislation. The Bill addresses an important gap which needs to be bridged. It addresses an issue which is of serious concern, as Senator Byrne alluded to, in respect of our schools and attendance.

The facts are that, whether it is a good thing, we know that of the 67,000 children who begin primary school each year, the vast majority are aged under six years and we need to ensure that they are protected by the law. We know from academic research that long-term absences and poor attendance records can cause instability as well as literacy and numeracy skills development issues in young children. These issues were addressed in the original Education and Welfare Act by introducing mandatory attendance at primary school for those aged over six years. We agree with this for the reasons outlined, but also because we believe that children have the right to an education and no parent should be allowed to deny his or her child that right. It is for those reasons that we agree that if a child aged four or five years is enrolled in a primary school by his or her parents, the parent should also be mandated to achieve an attendance record to the same standard as any other child in primary school.

I wish to raise some other issues related to this topic. I am sure the Minister will be aware that Ireland already differs from most European countries in that most children in the EU do not start school until the age of six or older. In countries such as Finland and Sweden, both of which rank highly for academic achievement and child well-being, children do not begin school until the age of seven years. We need to look at why that is the case. The issue of children starting school early in Ireland has been highlighted by Early Childhood Ireland and the Irish Primary Principals Network. Both groups said that many children aged four or five years are not ready for primary school for a number of reasons.

We know schools in Ireland refuse to take children as students whose fourth birthdays fall in June, July or August to protect the children from being left behind in class. If a four year old child falls behind, he or she may never catch up. The mixing of ages in a classroom can be difficult. For instance, because a child is entitled to begin primary education any time between his or her fourth and sixth birthday, a two-year gap means there can be significant differences in development, motor and social skills and the child's all-round maturity.

We also know from statistics published in the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study that children from lower socio-economic groups begin school earlier.Statistically, over half of children born to low-income families in 2008 started school in 2012 aged four years whereas less than one quarter of children from the highest income group began at the same age. That there is a class divide is worrying.

Fortunately, we know from evidence published in 2017 that more families are deciding to delay their children's entry into primary school, as they are availing of the preschool years provided by the State. This is evident in the statistic that the proportion of four year olds attending primary school fell from 47% in 2000 to 27% in 2017, which suggests that many parents do not feel that their children are ready for primary school at four years of age and would benefit from the preschool years. Therefore, we reiterate our welcome for the introduction of the second year of preschool. It is an invaluable year and will assist in the development of children who take up the opportunity.

We understand that, of the 500,000 children attending primary school, one in ten misses more than 20 days each year. The majority of these children are already protected by the Education Welfare Act but are still missing school. Perhaps we need to look beyond simply punishing parents for their child's poor attendance and consider the reasons that child is missing from school. Is it because the family is living in emergency accommodation and has no means of transporting the child to school on time? Is it because the school transport system is underfunded and the route is not accommodated? Is the child's home environment difficult and supports are not there for the parents? These are questions that must be answered before a child or a parent is held accountable.

Age, even at an early stage, is only one determining factor of a child's readiness for education. Some children will be much more mature at the ages of four and five, their linguistic abilities will be more advanced than that of others their age, and their family environments may also assist in settling them into school. If a parent wishes to enrol a child into a primary school at the age of four or five, that child should be protected under the Education Welfare Act. Therefore, we support and welcome this Bill.

Several of us have just come from the education committee, at which a number of powerful presentations on educational disadvantage were given. An Cosán was in attendance and Ms Elizabeth Waters made a particularly strong contribution. If the Minister has time, she should consider the brave and radical comments made by Dr. John Bissett of the Canal Communities Local Drugs Task Force. In particular, he challenged the ideology of equality of opportunity. It does not work for working class and disadvantaged people. We need to move to equality of outcomes. The Minister's colleague, Ms Waters, echoed those sentiments. What Dr. Bissett had to say - I listened to the last of it on television while I was preparing for this debate - was powerful testimony.

I welcome Senator Ó Ríordáin's reference to the democratic programme for governance. A powerful document, it was 100 years ahead of its time. Here we are 100 years later and we are still waiting. The programme spoke of equality and public control of key sectors of our economy. It spoke of putting public interests ahead of the rights of private ownership. When Sinn Féin celebrated the document ten years ago in the Mansion House, Deputy Adams asked whether it was any wonder that it had not been mentioned. It set out a radical vision that has been forgotten about for far too long in the State. If we are ever to achieve the goals that Mr. Tom Johnson and radical republicans and trade unionists set out at the time, we must listen to the challenging words of people like Dr. Bissett and Ms Waters regarding what we must do in education.

A colleague from Fianna Fáil cited a startling statistic this evening. If I am wrong, please accept my apologies. She mentioned that there were 89 school inspectors in the Twenty-six Counties. In other words, each one had 45 schools to cover. The figure in the Six Counties is 130 inspectors. The significant lack of resources facing the Minister in this regard presents a major challenge.

I wanted to raise these points because there is a common theme about how we challenge disadvantage and move towards real equality in this Republic. I welcome the Bill, which has Sinn Féin's full support.