Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 470: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of students reported to the National Educational Welfare Board for absenteeism at primary and post-primary level, respectively, in the school year September 2004 to June 2005; if that figure can be broken down further; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8148/06]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, 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.

Up to 2004, Ireland had no national data on the levels of student attendance in our schools. This matter was addressed by the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, which requires all schools to submit a report to the NEWB on levels of school attendance. In 2004, the NEWB initiated the collection and analysis of the first set of school attendance data for Ireland, relating to the school year 2003-04.

Based on the analysis of data for the 2003-04 report, the findings indicated that absenteeism is higher at primary level than at post-primary level. At primary level, the average number of days missed is 11 out of 183. At post-primary level, the average absence is 15 days out of 167 days. Absenteeism is higher in more disadvantaged areas. In the RAPID city areas, the average absence is 20 days. One in four post-primary students misses 20 days or more of school. In areas outside of RAPID, the average absence at post-primary level is 14 days and almost one in five miss 20 days or more. In RAPID city areas, the average absence at primary level is 17 days, while almost one in four pupils miss 20 days or more. In other areas, the average absence is ten days and one in ten pupils miss 20 days or more.

Average attendance in the most disadvantaged post-primary schools is 86.1%, or 23 days absence, and 94.6%, nine days absence, at the least disadvantaged schools, a difference of 8.5%. This difference is also evident in regard to the number of children who miss 20 days or more, 38% of students in the most disadvantaged schools and 8.5% in the least disadvantaged areas, a difference of 29.9%.

The Government has put in place a variety of measures to deal with the traditionally high levels of absence from school of children from disadvantaged areas. We set up the National Educational Welfare Board to monitor school attendance, help parents to get a school place for their child and run promotional campaigns on the importance of regular attendance. Working with parents to promote school attendance is also an important part of the work of the home-school-community liaison co-ordinators appointed to schools serving disadvantaged communities. Through the school completion programme we are providing increased resources for schools in disadvantaged areas to improve attendance and school completion rates by offering extra supports for their students. These include extra educational supports and services such as breakfast clubs.

Last May, my Department launched a new programme for educational inclusion, the DEIS initiative, under which even greater funding will be given to schools serving the most disadvantaged communities to help young people to do better at school. The process of identifying which schools will benefit from the new programme is now complete and those schools which will be receiving support under DEIS have now been contacted and invited to participate in the initiative.