216. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures her Department is taking to address the rise in absenteeism in Cork secondary schools, where the percentage of school days lost has increased from 8% in 2019/2020 to 11.8% in 2023/2024. [53657/25]
Topics / School Attendance
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSchool Attendance
50 questions from 21 TDs, between 20 March 2025 and 22 October 2026.
50
questions
49 written, 1 oral
21
TDs have asked
8
parties and groups
Independents counted together
1
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 |
| March 2025 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 1 |
| May 2025 | 3 |
| June 2025 | 2 |
| July 2025 | 6 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 6 |
| October 2025 | 6 |
| November 2025 | 1 |
| December 2025 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 3 |
| February 2026 | 1 |
| March 2026 | 3 |
| April 2026 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 5 |
| June 2026 | 3 |
| July 2026 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 2 |
| October 2026 | 4 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
-
10
-
7
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
2
-
2
-
1
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
217. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide a county-by-county breakdown of secondary school absenteeism levels for each of the past five years, including the percentage of students missing more than 20 days per year. [53658/25]
218. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the supports that are being put in place for schools to tackle the issue of unexplained absences, which accounted for 43% of recorded absences in Cork secondary schools in 2023/2024. [53659/25]
219. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will report on the outcomes of the multimedia campaign on school attendance launched with Tusla Education Support Service, and whether her Department has set attendance targets to measure its effectiveness. [53660/25]
220. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if Tusla will expand resources for its Education Support Service in Cork, in view of the increase in secondary school absenteeism reported in the agency's own data. [53661/25]
221. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth how Tusla categorises and verifies "unexplained absences" in school attendance data, and what proportion of these cases receive follow-up engagement with families. [53662/25]
238. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has a record of the number of children of school-going age who are not attending primary school or are simply refusing to attend; if a similar record exists for secondary schools; if she will provide the figures available to her Department; the number of applications submitted to her Department for home tuition and the number app…
557. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of staff on the School Completion Programme payroll, including coordinators, project workers and sessional staff; and the number who are full-time and part-time, in tabular form. [48813/25]
558. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average length of service for School Completion Programme staff nationwide. [48814/25]
559. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the projected cost for public service status of School Completion Programme staff. [48815/25]
560. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on talks between her Department and the School Completion Programme; and whether the talks are ongoing and progressing. [48816/25]
586. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a list of all secondary schools in Wexford that are taking part in phase 1 and phase 2 of the attendance initiative, Anseo pilot scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49251/25]
509. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a child (details supplied) is not permitted to enrol or attend their local school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39595/25]
204. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department tracks the number of children living in emergency homeless accommodation who have missed school days or changed schools mid-year; the supports that are in place for educational continuity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36698/25]
330. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the percentage of children in the past five years that have left school before completing the Leaving Certificate or LCA; whether they were in mainstream school, special education, DEIS or private schools, in tabular form. [35209/25]
331. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the percentage of children by age leaving school in the past five years that have left school before completing the Leaving Certificate or LCA, in tabular form. [35210/25]
332. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the percentage of children who left school in the past five years before completing the Leaving cert or LCA; and who continued on to a form of further education pathways. [35211/25]
405. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children on reduced school days or absences due to school-based avoidance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36099/25]
521. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide statistics of school attendance for primary and post primary students the day before a bank holiday, in tabular form. [29189/25]
688. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps she is taking to tackle absenteeism in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30595/25]
225. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a detailed breakdown, of student absenteeism rates for each of the past five academic years (2018/2019 to 2022/2023), specifying the number and percentage of primary and post-primary students who missed 20 or more days of school, disaggregated by county and Dáil electoral area, in tabular form. [26565/25]
226. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the specific measures her Department is taking to address the significant and rising levels of student absenteeism across primary and post-primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26566/25]
474. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth the supports available to students who, for medical reasons, have accrued substantial absence; whether any additional supports exist; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25714/25]
750. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education if the educational welfare officer as determined by the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 will intervene to first work with the families to address the issue of improving attendance for 15-year-olds currently enrolled on the youthreach programme or issue a school attendance notice to the parents prior to escalating the matter to the District Court; and if she will…
320. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the number of students on reduced hours; for a breakdown of same for each of the past three years and categorised based on primary or secondary school and SEN recommendation or not; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13146/25]