I remember well the debate in this House in 1999 on the Education (Welfare) Act. When introducing the legislation, the then Minister said it would effectively co-ordinate all services directed at children and families with truancy and poor school attendance records. That co-ordination was to involve the integration of early identification and intervention procedures into the normal work of schools. The Minister said it was his intention that a co-ordinated attendance system would operate on a number of levels ranging from general preventative work to more direct enforcement. What we were promised was streets ahead of the creaky, inadequate mechanism which had been in place for many years. It was small wonder that the Bill was generally welcomed in this House and elsewhere. In view of its importance, we had every reason to expect that, once enacted, its provisions would be implemented speedily to allow them to do some good.

Let us fast-forward to today and examine the current scenario. Incredibly, the new regime which was to be created by the Act is not in place in 2003. Even more unacceptable is the fact that nothing at all is in place, the previous mechanism having been allowed to lapse pending the arrival of the new one. I understand and appreciate that the delay in implementing the new system has its roots in an industrial dispute. While we all know how such disputes can drag on and on, the extent of the delay in this case goes far beyond the bounds of acceptability. There is a case to answer for allowing the existing system to die away entirely rather than maintaining it until the new system was ready to take over. This is having a real impact on very vulnerable young people, for many of whom there will be no way back from the way of life they have chosen to pursue.

My feeling that there is a lack of the necessary sense of urgency regarding this problem is strengthened by a recent newspaper report about the use of technology by schools to deal with truancy. I heard mention of this on the radio also. Some schools have experimented with a system which allows them to alert parents by means of a mobile phone text message if their child does not turn up at school. It seemed a brilliant idea to me and a forward looking and imaginative use of technology to address a very down-to-earth problem. I was very encouraged by the news, but I was less pleased recently to learn that the National Educational Welfare Board has instructed schools to refrain from having anything to do with systems like this. No doubt, the Minister of State will explain that this step was taken pending the board's investigation into the merits of the system, but the net effect will be a further delay in addressing the problem of truancy.

It tends to be forgotten that though the statistics for truancy remain pretty constant from year to year, the same young people are not involved. Starting to play truant is one step along the road to dropping out of school and to disengaging from the educational system. Once lost, a student is lost for good with dreadful consequences for his or her future life. There is a need for urgency, which is why I am very concerned by the apparent lack of urgency I see.

The phased implementation approach to the development of the new service has meant schools were advised that it would not be possible to make educational welfare officers available in all areas of the country in the short term. The board will not, therefore, be in a position to follow up on reports of student absences in areas where staff are not yet appointed. In such circumstances, schools were specifically requested to continue to record, monitor and support school attendance in the normal way and to follow existing good practice. Where urgent cases are reported, the board will respond to the needs of the children concerned.

With regard to the specific matter raised by the Senator, it is the board's view that certain procedures and systems are required to enable schools to efficiently and effectively discharge their responsibilities under the Act. These should build on the existing infrastructure in schools, where possible. The board will be working towards the development of a standard system for the recording of school attendance and the reporting of absences across all schools in consultation with school management authorities.

The board considers the development of a national tracking system in this area to be a priority. It is likely that such a system will be IT based and require careful advance planning before being developed and implemented nationally. It is important that any IT systems purchased by schools for tracking attendance locally are consistent with the new national tracking arrangements to be put in place by the board. It was in this context that schools were advised by the board not to enter into any new financial commitment in relation to the purchase and/or development of new systems for attendance-tracking pending the issue of further guidance on the matter by the board. The board will shortly be appointing an IT manager with responsibility for this area.

Schools have been clearly advised that they should continue to monitor and support regular school attendance in the normal way and follow existing good practice in this area. If individual schools have difficulty with any aspect of this advice, they are free to contact the board to discuss the matter at any time.

The board will be developing national guidelines across a number of areas in consultation with the education partners and other relevant bodies to assist schools in meeting their obligations under the Act. As well as guidelines in relation to attendance-tracking, these will include school attendance strategies, submission of notifications and reports and their contents, codes of behaviour and the working arrangements between schools and board staff. I trust that this clarifies the position on the matter for the Senator.

As a public representative, I have heard that the situation in Dublin is improving. The staff who were transferred from the local authorities are now carrying out their new duties. However, there are problems and gaps. I have heard colleagues say gardaí are still doing some of the work, despite the fact that they do not have any legislative responsibility. I understand there are cases where they are still assisting informally. The Department and many public representatives are concerned at how slow it has been to get the new system up and running. Since the board now appears to be making head office staff appointments, we should soon see some progress under the Act which we hoped would help solve the problem of absenteeism. However, the service will not be nationwide for some time. I thank the Senator for raising the issue and will convey his comments to the Minister.