Parents warned they could be sent to jail for not sending children to school
By Brendan Grehan
A COUPLE who have not been sending three of their children to school have been warned by Tallaght Court that they could go to jail for three months each.
The maximum sentence for not sending your child to school is one months jail but Judge Patricia McNamara told the couple that she could impose consecutive sentences of a month each in respect of each child.
The couple are being prosecuted by TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency.
They were assisted by a Polish interpreter.
The couple, who are in their late 30’s and have an address in Tallaght, are accused of failing to comply with school attendance notices in relation to two of their son’s attendance at a local national school and their daughters attendance at a local secondary school.
The case was before Judge Patricia McNamara to hear the facts.
The court heard that the boys were aged 13 and 14 and are now in first year while the girl was aged 15 and in second year in a secondary school.
An Educational Welfare Officer with TUSLA told Judge McNamara that the boys had missed 26 per cent of school and their sister had missed 38 per cent of school. She said that one of the problems was that the children were telling their parents that they were going to school but would not then go to school.
The couple’s defence solicitor, Stephen Montgomery Bl, said his clients had been living in Ireland since 1998 and they were originally from Poland.
Judge McNamara warned both parents that she could send them each to three months jail.
The Solicitor for Tusla suggested to Judge McNamara that the case be put back for a few weeks for a progress report.
Judge McNamara adjourned the case to a date at the end of November for a progress report.
