MOTHER WHOSE CHILDREN MISSED SCHOOL WARNED SHE COULD GO TO JAIL

February 8, 2016

School-GateA mother has been told she will go to jail if she does not ensure her teenage daughter attends school.

The woman appeared at Letetrkenny District Court and was sentenced to 14 days in prison but had the jail term suspended for 12 months.

She was one of a number of parents who appeared before the court.

The woman’s teenage daughter had only attended school on 24 of 52 school days since November 3rd last.

Another sibling missed six out of 51, another missed 8 of 51 and a fourth missed four of 51.

A solicitor for the woman said there is an issue about her daughter going to school and staying at school.

But Judge Paul Kelly said the solicitor was being “fed nonsense” by his client who is “not taking this seriously at all”.

An education and welfare officer for the Child and Family Agency told the court that the family has been given “every opportunity”.

“There is no reason for them not to be at school,” she said.

“This is a child who is being robbed of her future by her parent’s refusal to send her to school. This impacts seriously on the future of the child,” the judge said.

The judge warned her that the sentence will be activated if the child misses school without written evidence of a reasonable excuse.

In another case before the same judge he fined a mother €400 after she had previously pleaded guilty to a charge relating to two children.

An education and welfare officer said one child had missed ten days out of 51 and six of those were unexplained.

The welfare officer said there is concern about the child in question who has “huge academic potential which is not being reached because of absenteeism”.

The child is due to transfer to post primary in September but has not been registered with any school yet.

The mother’s solicitor said she is well aware that the children have to attend school and will do her best to ensure that they do.

The Judge said the imposition of a jail sentence was “a nuclear option” which he was reluctant to exercise on the first occasion.

“If she comes back to be me on a subsequent summons I will take a different view,” he said.

In another case the court heard another student had missed ten days out of 51.

The judge adjourned the case to March 1st and warned the parents that they could decide which one of them is going to jail “if they don’t get their house in order and take this seriously”.

Another case involving a girl was adjourned to June after the court heard there has been an improvement in attendance levels.


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