The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB), which is responsible for encouraging and supporting school attendance, has appointed 23 new educational welfare officers (EWO).
"The new EWOs will focus first on the welfare of children, " explained NEWB chief executive, Mr Eddie Ward. "Up to now, the emphasis was on prosecution in cases of prolonged or consistent absenteeism. The aim now is to concentrate on the reasons behind a child's absence from school so that related problems or issues can be dealt with before absenteeism reaches crisis point".
At the moment there are 37 school attendance officers working in Dublin, Cork and Waterford. Up to 90 will be in place by the end of this year, and it is hoped that the NEWB will employ up to 300 at the peak of its operation.
The NEWB was established in July last year under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000.