If a child misses school more than 20 days a year, the school he or she attends is legally required to report this.
Under the Education (Welfare) Act, parents are responsible for making sure their child receives an education, with the law stating that every child between the ages of 6 and 16 must attend school or otherwise receive an education.
Worryingly, according to a new report by the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, more than 500 school attendance notices were sent to parents in Ireland last year, and some 154 court summonses were issued over the matter of poor attendance.
These figures were released yesterday as part of Tusla’s annual report for 2015, where it was revealed that as per last year, there were 6388 children and 1835 young adults in care in Ireland.
Tusla, which was established as recently as 2014, is responsible for inspecting and registering early-years services, including pre-schools, day-care and similar services which cater for children aged up to six years.
