Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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970. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 574 Question of 31 March 2021, the number of child referrals made by schoolteachers to Tusla for each of the past five years. [18716/21]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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971. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 574 of 31 March 2021, the number of child referrals made by schoolteachers to Tusla in each of the past five years. [18719/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 970 and 971 together.

The Education Welfare Act (s.21) requires school principals, to notify an Educational Welfare Officer, where a student is, in the opinion of the principal of the recognised school at which he or she is registered, not attending school regularly. Section 24 of the Act specifies that a Board of Management must inform an Educational Welfare Officer where it intends to expel a pupil. Below is the number of referrals under the Education (Welfare Act) 2000, received by the Education Welfare Service from schools from 2016 to date. During school closures in 2020 and 2021, schools were not required to record attendance in the usual manner.

With regard to Child Protection referrals, all information relating to the number of Tusla Child Protection referrals, including those from schools/teachers is held by Tusla Child Protection and Welfare, which is under the remit of the Minister of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. My Department does not collate this information.