James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Educational Welfare Service has specific responsibility for the Child and Family Agency’s statutory function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education.

Section 24 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 provides: “Where the board of management of a recognised school or a person acting on its behalf is of the opinion that a student should be expelled from that school it shall, before so expelling the student, notify the educational welfare officer to whom functions under this Act have been assigned, in writing, of its opinion and the reasons therefor”.

The Act further provides that the Agency make all reasonable efforts to ensure that provision is made for the continued education of such students. Although each school must notify the local Educational Welfare Officer of the intention to expel, the Agency has advised me that it does not collate the particular data requested by the Deputy at this time. The latest available figures indicate that 26 students were excluded from primary schools in the academic year 2011/2012. 186 students were excluded from post primary schools in the same period.