Parents in Clare are facing jail time over their children’s weak attendance in school.
There is a chance that the couple could spend Christmas in prison as Judge Patrick Duncan informed them that he will send them to prison on December 20 if their children don’t improve their attendance.
It is understood that the Clare couple have been frequently travelling to the United Kingdom with their family, which is why their two teenagers have such bad attendance.
The Judge has informed the family that they will not get away lightly. He said, “It is disruptive for the children. It is disruptive for the other children in the school they are now in and it is putting unbearable pressure on teachers.”
According to the Journal, Judge Duncan stated that the parents were abusing the education system.
He expects 100 percent school attendance from now until the December midterm. He stressed that the parents will be imprisoned if they do not follow his orders.
He was not impressed with the excessive amount of travelling the family do. He said it was unfair on the children, “The education of these children is severely compromised. It is fine to be careering around the world, but the children are suffering.”
Kevin Sherry, who is a solicitor for the Children and Family Agency shared that the children are not getting the education they deserve due to the constant trips to the United Kingdom.
He revealed that even the children are worried about their poor school attendance.
The family’s solicitor explained that they plan on returning to England in the future.
Judge Duncan said that if the parents want to continue “careering around the world”, it’d be in the children’s best interest to put them in care.
“Maybe that is the answer and the parents can continue careering around the world,” said Judge Duncan.
It is understood that the two children started back in school in Ireland on Monday. They have less than three weeks to improve their attendance.
It is the school’s responsibility to tell the statutory Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency if a pupil has missed over 20 days in the school year, or if they are concerned about a child’s poor attendance record.
