A LIMERICK mother has been convicted of failing to send her child to school and sentenced to three weeks in prison.
However, Judge Eugene O’Kelly said he would suspend the sentence for eight months on condition that the mother continues to send the child and her two other children to school in the meantime.
Limerick District Court was told that the child had missed 15 days of the school year without explanation since January.
Solicitor for the Child and Family agency, Muiris Gavin said they “still had concerns two years after the first school attendance notice was issued”.
The mother of three was contacted by the school, in a group wide text message, outlining concerns of absenteeism. The school also said that there were “various absences” relating to the 15-year-old child.
The mother phoned asking if her children had turned up at school as she had hired a taxi to take them there.
However, the court was told that the children asked the taxi to stop, “near the jail boreen” and “effectively went mitching”, according to defence solicitor, Ted McCarthy.
The mother pleaded guilty to an original breach of the school attendance notice in 2012, but the court was told that there were still concerns relating to one of her children and a new school attendance notice could be issued after Easter if the current trend continued.
The court heard that the mother had three bench warrants issued for her arrest after she had failed to turn up for previous court hearings.
Mr McCarthy said that the woman was in the process of “putting her life in order and trying to organise her family and children. She’s doing her best and she is doing it on her own”, he added.
Judge Eugene O’Kelly said he was of the mind to send her to prison, adding that “perhaps a spell in prison could show her the benefits of organisation”.
Referring to the children, he said that “as they get older, if they continue at this rate, they’re going to be exposed to criminality,” he said.
Mr McCarthy said his client would ring the school every day to make sure that her children arrived for class and it was accepted that her youngest child had a perfect school attendance record.
“Unfortunately, there are hundreds of single parents who have to make do and get their kids to school. Your client is not unique,” said the judge.
Imposing the three-week prison sentence, Judge O’Kelly said he would suspended it for eight months on the provision that she ensured her children continue to “regularly and promptly” attend school.
