'No one is going to tell me how to parent': Dublin mother fined for kids' 500-day school absences
Tom Tuite
"No one is going to tell me how to parent my children. They are mine," was the reaction of a Dublin mother to official warnings about her children missing over 500 days of primary school, a court heard.
The woman, whose identity cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, failed to appear at her scheduled hearing on Thursday, where Tusla prosecuted her for failing to comply with school attendance notices about the children's chronic level of truancy.
The case proceeded in her absence, resulting in fines of €300, to be paid within 12 months.
The school principal testified at Dublin District Court, giving a breakdown of days missing stretching back six years for the woman's son and four years for her daughter.
The boy missed 292 days, and the girl was absent on 217 days without explanation.
The principal outlined to Judge Anthony Halpin how an intensive literacy programme had been made available to assist the boy.
However, the child did not attend. The principal raised concerns about the pupil's education and social development.
The school principal testified that while the girl at one point suffered from head lice, the school had especially arranged treatment.
Standardised assessments using the New Drumcondra Primary Reading Test estimated that both children's literacy levels had fallen into the lower 10 per cent for their age group.
The second witness, a Tusla educational welfare officer, outlined multiple failed attempts to contact the mother, who repeatedly refused to reply to official letters, phone calls, or text messages.
The court heard that on one occasion, the woman attended a meeting at the school where she became aggressive, "lifted a chair off the ground," and had to be told to keep her voice down 30 times.
Following this incident, educational welfare officers were formally instructed never to visit her home alone, as she was deemed a potential safety hazard due to her aggression.
The education and welfare officer said the woman's response to warnings was to object to being told how to parent and to say, "They are mine."
A doctor who examined the children also provided evidence, confirming there was no medical reason for them to have missed so many days of school, the court heard.
The third witness was a home-school liaison officer, who gave evidence that she had been engaging with and reaching out to the family as far back as 2019, but the woman responded by becoming aggressive toward her.
The liaison officer told the court she had tried to assist the mother and get her involved in various school activities, including yoga and bake sales, to create a positive relationship with the school, but she was not interested, and emails went unanswered.
Gardaí were at one point asked to carry out a welfare check when it emerged the woman and the children were not seen for a month.
Convicting her in her absence, Judge Halpin referred to the constitutional right to an education enjoyed by children and the provisions stating that parents are the primary educators.
However, he noted there had been a total lack of engagement by the mother with either Tusla or the school.
The judge noted that one of the children required special educational attention, which had been provided by the school, and that no reasonable excuse had been given for their absences.
The judge remarked that the mother showed total non-engagement, treating the school with "abject disrespect."
He highlighted how the children missed out on having friends and peers, leaving them with a significant developmental deficit as a direct result of their limited time in the classroom.
Sparing the mother a custodial sentence and harsher fines, Judge Halpin noted that the woman was not of significant financial means and added that he could infer from the situation that she had certain difficulties.
