A MOTHER-OF-FIVE has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and a father to 15 days in jail in separate cases, at Tallaght District Court, for failing to ensure their children went to school.
Judge James McDonnell said the case involving the mother of a 15-year-old boy was “one of the most shocking cases of its type” that he had encountered and so merited a custodial sentence.
Penal reform groups criticised the sentences yesterday, saying prison could not address the complex issues lying behind a perceived unwillingness to support a child’s education.
The court heard the woman, in her late 30s and from Tallaght, had refused to accompany her son to his mock Junior Cert exams.
An educational welfare officer from the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) said the boy missed 58 days and six half-days out of 83 school days between November 2008 and November 2009, and 58 days and six half-days out of 83 school days from November 2009 to April 2010.
In a judgment on Tuesday, Judge McDonnell convicted the woman, who pleaded not guilty to failing to ensure her son attended his community school in Tallaght. She was taken to Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison.
“The defendant may have had her problems from her previous relationship where her partner abused her and her family, but she has an obligation to ensure that her son attends school.
“This case is so serious and worrying that I’m satisfied that it merits a custodial sentence,” said the judge.
He directed officers from the NEWB to notify the HSE of the situation as arrangements would have to be made for the care of the woman’s other children.
In a separate ruling on Tuesday, Judge McDonnell sentenced a father to 15 days for not ensuring his daughter went to school.
The man, who lives in Tallaght, had previously pleaded guilty to not sending his daughter to a community college in west Tallaght. When he did not appear in court for a pre-sentence report, Judge McDonnell sentenced him to 15 days in jail in his absence.
The NEWB was set up in 2002 to ensure all children receive an education. It says it takes legal action against parents as a last resort. Yet the number of convictions against parents has increased since the board began issuing summonses in 2006.
Up to the end of March 2010, the board issued 254 summonses in relation to 157 children. Those convicted face a fine of up to €635 or up to one month’s imprisonment or both. The NEWB said 76 of these summonses resulted in convictions and it estimates that five resulted in a jail sentence.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust criticised the custodial sentences.
“Prison should be reserved only for the most serious offences and for those who present a threat to society,” Liam Herrick, executive director of the trust, said.
“Moreover, prison cannot address the complex issues which are likely to lie behind a perceived unwillingness to support a child’s education.
“Given that holding a person in prison for 30 days costs the State around €8,000, the Irish Penal Reform Trust believes the resources would be far better spent on services which would support the family within the community.”
