Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 218: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of staff employed by the National Educational Welfare Board in 2008; the number of staff currently employed by NEWB; if any staff are on maternity or other leave; if positions will be filled in 2009 as a result of the moratorium in public sector recruitment; the number of staff in total that will be employed by NEWB in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20720/09]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 established the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) as the statutory body with responsibility for school attendance. The general functions of the Board are to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. I am informed by the Board that on 31st December 2008 there were 104 staff employed. Currently the Board employs 106 staff. Five staff are currently on maternity leave. No staff are currently absent on other forms of long term leave, such as, long term sick leave.

As a non-commercial state sponsored body the NEWB must comply with the conditions of the moratorium on recruitment in the public sector. While the Government Decision does allow for certain exceptions these will require the sanction of the Minister for Finance. It is not possible at this point in time to give the number of staff in total that will be employed by the NEWB for 2009. The current figure may not remain static particularly if staff decide to leave the NEWB during the course of the year. Therefore it is not possible to accurately report actual numbers of staff who will be employed by the Board in 2009.

The NEWB is one aspect of the comprehensive framework that this Government has put in place to improve school attendance, to encourage more young people to finish school and to support parents and the wider community in addressing the individual needs of children at risk of educational exclusion. These services are available to all schools participating in DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) the Action Plan for educational inclusion. In line with Government policy the Board prioritises its resources to support schools participating in DEIS.

This week I announced plans to expand the remit of the Educational Welfare Board from 1 September 2009, to include responsibility for the Home School Liaison and School Completion Services as well as Visiting Teacher supports for Traveller pupils. The revised remit will bring together the individual services under one common management team which will provide for a single, more focussed, strategic direction at local, regional and national levels. This integrated approach is part of the Government's overall approach to Transforming Public Services announced in November 2008.