Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)
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Question 1092: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if and when a second educational welfare officer will be appointed for County Kerry; the number of referrals to the board from Kerry in the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24492/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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.

The service is developing on a continuing basis. The total authorised staffing complement is currently 94, comprising 16 headquarters and support staff, five regional managers, 12 senior educational welfare officers, or SEWOS, and 61 educational welfare officers, or EWOS. The board has filled 13 vacancies arising from a recent recruitment campaign. The vacancies are specific to particular locations and comprise one SEWO post in Sligo and 12 EWO posts to be located as follows: four in Dublin, one in Athlone, Cavan, Ennis, Galway, Tullamore, Sligo, and two in non-fixed locations. The EWOS with non-fixed locations will not work from a designated headquarters but will be deployed by the board to meet urgent needs of the service throughout the country. Decisions relating to the assignment of staff to specific areas are a matter for the board, which is an independent statutory agency. As regards the Deputy's question relating to the number of referrals to the board from Kerry in the past three years, my Department has requested the NEWB to respond directly to the Deputy on the matter.