Children and Families Agency, Tusla, issued summons to 177 different families because their children have missed so many days of school since the beginning of last year, reports Breaking News.
The agency said summons were sent to 52 parents or guardians, 32 elementary school students and 20 high school students in the first six months of this year.
Of these cases, 11 families were involved in Co Longford, 10 in Co Meath and seven in Dublin.
Eight other counties have also received truancy notices, but Tusla said individual numbers are low and disclosing the exact numbers could run the risk of identifying individual children.
Last year, 125 separate summons were issued, including 76 for primary school students and 49 for high school students, reports Breaking News.
More than a quarter of these cases took place in Galway, where Tusla initiated 32 cases.
There are also 22 cases in Limerick, 11 in Clare, nine in Kerry and Roscommon, eight in Dublin and six in Kildare.
Tusla said schools are legally required to report attendance whenever a child has been absent for more than 20 days, reports Breaking News.
However, they argue that absences are not always the result of interventions, especially if they are justified by legitimate reasons such as illness or other family emergencies.
When it comes to recording absences, schools are asked to distinguish between “explained and unexplained absences” and report this to Tusla.
The agency said: “If a school is satisfied with the reason provided for an absence, it will be recorded as ‘explained’. However, if an absence is ‘unexplained’, the principal may make a referral to the Educational Welfare Service if they have concerns regarding the absence(s),” reports Breaking News.
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