Kildare teen missed two years of school

A mother who allowed her child to leave full-time education after primary school will have to return to court in October for sentencing on the matter – pending a progress report in the meantime.

This case of habitual truancy was brought against the mother by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, which had an education welfare officer (EWO) in court at Athy District Court last week.

“Out of the last 65 days of term, she has missed 15 (at a named school in Kildare),” said the EWO.

“The child never transferred to post-primary after finishing and wasn’t in education for two years,” she added.

“How did they fly under the radar?” asked Judge Desmond Zaidan.

“We got our first referral on 16 June 2022 when they finished primary, but unfortunately was on our waiting list before getting an EWO,” said the Tusla rep.

“I can understand why they didn’t want to go back to school when she returned, they’d have been utterly lost. It’s a damning indictment on the state,” said the judge.

“There were also attendance issues at primary,” the EWO informed the court.

“It’s not your problem, it’s the state’s, because the future of Ireland is in its children,” said the judge.

“By not educating your children, that’s tantamount to child abuse,” said the judge to the mother.

“Mom, did you not put any pressure on the state?” asked the judge.

“I’m from the Travelling community, and when they finished primary school they didn’t want to go; it wasn’t my choice, it was theirs,” she said.

“There have been great improvements, honestly,” said the mother’s solicitor Brian Larkin.

“The only slip-up was a two-day absence at a family wedding,” he revealed.

“Why a couple of days?” asked the judge. 

“Oh, we make an event of it! Two or three days!” she smiled.

The mother then told the judge she herself was just 11 when she left education and cannot read or write “but all my kids can”.

The EWO reminded the court that a child can legally decide to leave full-time education “at 16, or after the junior cert”.

“I think this should be 18. Seriously, a lot of kids are falling by the wayside. Encourage them to stay in, or get into training. Get something – hairdressing, engineer, maybe even a judge. Transition year is a good year with lots of work experience, I’d encourage them to do that,” said the judge, before adjourning the case for sentencing to 14 October.