More than 13,000 students leave the school system without completing the Leaving Cert, the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, said yesterday.
At the official launch of the National Education Welfare Board, he also revealed how some 2,000 pupils leave before the Junior Cert, while a further 1,000 do not transfer from primary to secondary school. In all, 18 per cent of students do not complete the Leaving exam.
Mr Dempsey said these were "frightening statistics" which represented a real challenge for policymakers and others.
The new board takes over the role of school attendance officers and the Garda. For the first time in the history of the State, there is now a single body in charge of school attendance.
Mr Eddie Ward, chief executive officer of the new board said it would work "collaboratively with schools, parents and others involved with a child and the family to bring about an improvement in school attendance". He said the board would take legal action when a welfare officer believes "the parent is not co-operating or is negligent in relation to the child's education".
The service is being launched with 73 education welfare officers. Dublin city and county will have 21 but some counties will have to share officers. The board has funding of almost €6 million for next year, less than half what it demanded in a pre-Budget submission.
Last night, the INTO general secretary , Mr John Carr, said Government support for "at risk pupils" was totally inadequate.
"Every year thousands of primary school pupils do not attend school. For many pupils this is the start of a drift towards early school drop-out, educational failure and a life of continuing disadvantage. Some will fall into crime and drug abuse. If this cycle is to be broken then Government must fully resource its own legislation in this area. The Minister for Finance must use this week's Budget to fully fund the Education Welfare Service."
Labour's education spokesperson, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, also called on the Minister to make "an urgent allocation" to the new board.
"The scope and extent of this funding shortfall indicates the need for the Government to get serious about tackling educational disadvantage," she said, adding that there was a need to reassess priorities within the Department of Education.
For now, the board will provide a service to the most disadvantaged areas and most at risk groups, according to Mr Dempsey. An intensive service will be provided in urban areas designated as disadvantaged in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway. Other towns which will have an educational welfare officer are Drogheda, Navan, Athlone, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Bray, Clonmel, Tralee, Ennis, Sligo and Letterkenny. In other areas, the board will follow up urgent cases.
