Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
1145. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps that are being taken to ensure the provision of education to a child (details supplied) who has been without access to a school placement for a long period. [74820/25]
View answerTusla Education Support Service (TESS), which includes the statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS), is under the remit of my Department and operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000. The primary role of the EWS is to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a certain minimum education to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education.
Educational welfare officers (EWOs) are based throughout the country to offer advice and guidance to parents who need support in ensuring that their child attends schools regularly. They work with children, young people and their families who are experiencing difficulty with school attendance; this is done through, home visits, educational welfare conferences and collaboratively working with different agencies. The main priority of the work is around the welfare of children and young people and to ensure that concerns around attendance are addressed before attendance becomes a crisis issue. EWOs also support parents and guardians who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school placement for their child.
All referrals received by the EWS are screened and assessed by a senior educational welfare officer and receive a response to indicate whether the case has been allocated to an EWO, the case is on a waiting list, or the referral has not met the criteria for intervention by an EWO and the reasons why.
Referrals to the EWS may be made throughout the school year. A referral for a child without a school place is prioritised by the EWS and an EWO is assigned immediately to support families who are in this situation. It will remain an open case until such time as a school place is offered and accepted.
TESS has confirmed that the child in question is an open and allocated case to the service. An EWO is following up to support the parent in securing a school place for their child.
