A Judge threatened to jail one of the parents of a Donegal teenager who is constantly missing days from school.
The girl’s parents appeared at Letterkenny District Court yesterday for failing to ensure their daughter went to school.
The case has been ongoing between the secondary school pupil’s parents and TUSLA, the child and family agency.
The solicitor for TUSLA said the case has been ongoing for a long time and does’t appear to be improving.
The number of days being missed by the girl from school was outlined to the court.
The court was told that the child is suffering from asthma.
However Judge Paul Kelly said he did not accept that such an ailment was an excuse for the girl missing so many days as there was medication including inhalers which could control her condition.
He instructed solicitor Gordon Curley, who was representing the girl’s parents, to consult with members of TUSLA who were present in court.
Mr Curley said he agreed that the girl had missed days in the past but the situation was improving.
But Judge Kelly asked Mr Curley “How does she feel about the prospect of one of her parents going to jail? It’s not a thing that the District Court likes doing in any part of this country but some people seem to think that we’ll just ramble on.
“This child is missing out on her prospects and her education. These parents have a duty to their child. There is no serious commitment being made that this child goes to school.”
After a meeting with Tulsa, Mr Curley told the court that an agreement had been reached with the parents that they would ensure their daughter went to and stayed in school.
Judge Kelly thanked the parents of their co-operation and added “I appreciate you may be feeling you are being dealt with harshly. This thing can become a habit for the child and we have to try and break that cycle. She won’t get these years back or her education back. The onus is on the parents – it’s an unpleasant duty but it goes with the territory.”
He adjourned the case until December 6th to monitor if the girl is attending school regularly.