Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I do not have a timeline and it has not been presented to me in the information I have been provided with.

As part of the negotiations on the programme for Government, I specifically had a commitment written in on page 86 that the Government would be determined to ensure every child leaving primary school could read and write. It should be a basic requirement that every child is literate and numerate leaving primary school. Every child should have the opportunity to do that but, sadly, it is not the case. The Senator has highlighted a particular initiative that may assist a small cohort of people, which I have consistently raised in the past. I have taken plenty of heat from this House and the Lower House on the issue. We have three separate databases that could assist us regarding the rate of truancy. If we could link up the Department of Education and Skills database with those of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the national educational welfare service of Tusla, which comes under the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, it would be an effective tool to identify problems and vehicles to address them. Sadly, for political reasons people have jumped down on it. Our priority should be to use all the available technology and information available to us to ensure that regardless of background every child has an equal opportunity to access a proper education particularly in primary school.

The issue of truancy came up again in the media today. We need to use the tools available to us as a State to try to ensure all children have the opportunity and are able to read and write when they leave primary school and progress to secondary school.