School Attendance Act , 1926

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Education;

the expression “national school” means a public elementary day school for the time being recognised by the Minister as a national school;

the expression “suitable school” means a school for the time being certified by the Minister under this Act to be a suitable school within the meaning of this Act;

the expression “national or other suitable school” includes both national school and suitable school;

the expression “principal teacher” includes any deputy-principal or other teacher for the time being acting as or for a principal teacher;

the word “parent” in relation to a child means the person having the legal custody of the child and, where owing to the absence of such person or for any other reason the child is not living with or is not in the actual custody of such person, includes the person with whom the child is living or in whose actual custody the child is;

the word “employment” in relation to a child means employment and occupation in any labour exercised by way of trade or for the purpose of gain to the child or to any other person;

the word “sickness” includes any physical or mental malady or injury;

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by order made under this Act;

the expression “offence under this Act” includes an offence under any section or sub-section of this Act;

the expression “commencement of this Act” means the date on which the section in which the expression is used comes into operation by virtue of an order made by the Minister under this Act and where such section so comes into operation on different dates in different areas or districts means in relation to any such area or district the date on which such section so comes into operation in such area or district.

2 Application of this Act.

2.—In this Act, the expression “child to whom this Act applies” means and includes a child who has attained the age of six years and has not attained the age of fourteen years, and every other child to whom this Act is for the time being applied by virtue of an order made by the Minister under the power in that behalf hereinafter conferred on him.

3 Date of attainment of any particular age.

3.—For the purposes of this Act a child shall be deemed to attain any particular age on whichever of the following days, that is to say, the 31st day of March, the 30th day of June, the 30th day of September, or the 31st day of December first occurs after the anniversary of his birth on which he actually attains such age.

4 Obligation to attend school.

4.—(1) The parent of every child to whom this Act applies shall, unless there is a reasonable excuse for not so doing, cause the child to attend a national or other suitable school on every day on which such school is open for secular instruction and for such time on every such day as shall be prescribed or sanctioned by the Minister in respect of such day.

(2) Any of the following shall be a reasonable excuse for failure to comply with this section, that is to say:—

(a) that the child has been prevented from attending school by the sickness of the child;

(b) that the child is receiving suitable elementary education in some manner other than by attending a national or other suitable school;

(c) that there is not a national or other suitable school accessible to the child which the child can attend and to which the parent of the child does not object on religious grounds to send the child;

(d) that the child has been prevented from attending school by some other sufficient cause.

(3) Until the year 1936 the following shall also be a reasonable excuse for failure to comply with this section on not more than ten days during the period beginning on the 17th day of March and ending on the 15th day of May next following in any year in respect of a child who has attained the age of twelve years, that is to say, that the child has been prevented from attending school by reason of his having been engaged in light agricultural work for his parent on his parent's land.

(4) Until the year 1936 the following shall also be a reasonable excuse for failure to comply with this section on not more than ten days during the period beginning on the 1st day of August and ending on the 15th day of October next following in any year in respect of a child who has attained the age of twelve years, that is to say, that the child has been prevented from attending school by reason of his having been engaged in light agricultural work for his parent on his parent's land.

(5) A school shall be deemed to be accessible to a child for the purposes of this section if, but only if, either:—

(a) the school is situate, in the case of a child who has not attained the age of ten years, within two miles measured from the child's residence along the shortest way lawfully and conveniently available for him or, in the case of a child who has attained the age of ten years within three miles similarly measured; or

(b) there is a suitable means of conveyance to the school available for the child from a point within a reasonable distance from the child's residence.

5 Certification of suitable schools.

5.—(1) The Minister may if and when he so thinks fit by a certificate in the prescribed form certify any particular school to be a suitable school within the meaning of this Act for the attendance of children to whom this Act applies for the purpose of receiving elementary education, and the Minister may at any time as and when he thinks fit revoke any such certificate.

(2) The Minister may make or cause to be made such reasonable inquiries, investigations, and inspections as he shall think proper for the purpose of satisfying himself whether any particular school is or is not, or does or does not continue to be fit to be certified as a suitable school.

(3) For the purpose aforesaid, any officer of the Minister duly authorised by him in that behalf may at all reasonable times enter any suitable school or any school in respect of which an application to be certified as a suitable school has been made to the Minister and there make such inquiries, investigations, and inspections as he shall think proper.

(4) Every manager and conductor of and every teacher in any such school as aforesaid and every parent of a child attending such school shall to the best of his ability answer such questions and furnish such information as shall be reasonably asked or required of him for the purpose aforesaid by an officer of the Minister duly authorised in that behalf by the Minister.

6 School attendance area to which child belongs.

6.—(1) For the purpose of this Act a child to whom this Act applies shall be deemed to belong to the school attendance area in which he is ordinarily resident.

(2) If and whenever the ordinary residence of a child to whom this Act applies is changed from one school attendance area to another school attendance area, the parent of the child shall within one week after the change give notice in writing or in person of the change to the enforcing authority of the school attendance area from which such residence has been changed and also to the enforcing authority of the school attendance area to which such residence has been changed.

(3) If any person shall fail to give such notice as is mentioned in the foregoing sub-section to any enforcing authority to whom he is required by the said sub-section to give the same he shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten shillings.

(4) The parent of a child to whom this Act applies may transfer the child from one national school to another national school at any time either with the consent of the Minister or when the transfer is made because of a change of the ordinary residence of the child, but in any other case a child to whom this Act applies shall only be transferred from one national school to another national school on or at the first opportunity after one of the following days, that is to say, the 1st day of January, the 1st day of April, the 1st day of July, or the 1st day of October.

7 Restriction on employment of children.

7.—(1) In addition and without prejudice to any other lawful prohibition of or restriction on the employment of children, the Minister may by order make regulations for prohibiting the employment of children to whom this Act applies at such times or places or in such manner as to prevent or interfere with their attendance at school in accordance with this Act or their obtaining proper benefit from such attendance, and in particular may, in furtherance of that object, by such regulations prohibit or restrict the employment of such children in particular occupations or during particular hours.

(2) Any person who employs a child in contravention of a regulation made under this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding forty shillings, and, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(3) Regulations made under this section shall not prevent any child who immediately before the commencement of this Act is in lawful employment from continuing in such employment or prevent the exercise of manual labour by a child lawfully detained in a certified industrial or reformatory school or the receipt by any child of instruction in manual labour in any school.

(4) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat annulling such regulation such regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such regulation.

8 The enforcing authority.

8.—(1) The enforcing authority for the purposes of this Act shall be—

(a) in every school attendance area situate in a county borough or urban district mentioned in the Schedule to this Act, the school attendance committee appointed under this Act for that area; and

(b) in every school attendance area not situate in any of the said county boroughs or urban districts, the officer of the Gárda Síochána for the time being holding the rank and occupying the station prescribed in that behalf by the order constituting or defining the area.

(2) It shall be the duty of every enforcing authority to keep the prescribed registers and records for the purposes of this Act, and to permit such registers and records to be inspected at all reasonable times by officers of the Minister duly authorised in that behalf by the Minister.

9 Constitution of school attendance areas.

9.—(1) As soon as may be after the passing of this Act, the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Justice, shall by one or more orders divide the whole of Saorstát Eireann (except the county boroughs and urban districts mentioned in the Schedule to this Act) into school attendance areas and may from time to time by order vary (by amalgamation, division, or alteration of boundaries of areas) such division.

(2) Every order made under this section shall prescribe the rank and station of the respective officers of the Gárda Síochána, who are to be the enforcing authorities in the several areas to which the order relates.

(3) Every officer of the Gárda Síochána who is an enforcing authority under this Act may exercise all or any of his functions as such enforcing authority by or through any one or more of the members of the Gárda Síochána under his command and every member of the Gárda Síochána by or through whom such functions are so exercised shall be a school attendance officer for the purposes of this Act.

10 Appointment of school attendance committees for certain areas.

10.—(1) Each of the county boroughs and urban districts mentioned in the Schedule to this Act shall be a school attendance area, but the council of any of the said county boroughs and urban districts may at any time, subject to the approval of the Minister, divide such borough or district into two or more school attendance areas.

(2) In every school attendance area in the said county boroughs and urban districts there shall be a school attendance committee and the first school attendance committee in each of the said school attendance areas shall consist of the persons who immediately before the commencement of this Act were members of the school attendance committee appointed under the Irish Education Act, 1892, for that area and such persons shall hold office as members of the said first school attendance committee until the time prescribed by the Minister under this section for the commencement of the term of office of their successors.

(3) The members of each school attendance committee in the said school attendance areas (other than the members of the first school attendance committee and members appointed to fill casual vacancies) shall be appointed triennially at such times as shall be prescribed by the Minister under this section and shall (unless they previously die, resign or are removed) hold office for three years from the time prescribed by the Minister under this section for the commencement of their term of office.

(4) Every school attendance committee (other than the first school attendance committee) in each of the said school attendance areas shall, if a Juvenile Advisory Committee established by or under the control of the Minister for Industry and Commerce exists in the school attendance area at the time of a triennial appointment of members, consist of eleven members during the succeeding triennial period, and shall, if no such Juvenile Advisory Committee exists in the area at the time of such triennial appointment, consist of ten members during the succeeding triennial period.

(5) Of the members of a school attendance committee appointed under this section, each one of five members shall, so far as such persons are available, be either a manager or a patron of a national or other suitable school in the school attendance area, and one other member shall be a teacher in a national or other suitable school in the school attendance area, and, when the committee consists of eleven members, one other member shall be a member of the Juvenile Advisory Committee in the school attendance area.

(6) Five members of every school attendance committee appointed under this section shall be appointed by the Minister, and at least one of the members so appointed shall be a teacher in a national or other suitable school in the school attendance area.

(7) When a school attendance committee appointed under this section consists of ten members, five of such members shall be appointed by the council of the county borough or urban district in which the school attendance area is situated, of which five members one at least shall be a manager or a patron of a national or other suitable school in the school attendance area, and when the school attendance committee consists of eleven members six of such members shall be appointed by the said council, of which six members one at least shall be such manager or patron as aforesaid and one other shall be a member of the Juvenile Advisory Committee in the school attendance area.

(8) The Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, may by order prescribe the times and mode of appointment of members of school attendance committees by the councils of the said county boroughs and urban districts and by the Minister respectively, the time of commencement of the period of office of the members of such committees, the time and mode of filling casual vacancies in such committees and the period of office of persons appointed to fill such vacancies, and the times of meeting, quorum, conduct of business, and keeping of accounts of such committees.

(9) An officer of the Minister duly authorised in that behalf by the Minister shall be entitled to be present at any meeting of a school attendance committee and to address such committee, but not to vote, on any matter under consideration by the committee at such meeting.

11 Officers of school attendance committees.

11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section every school attendance committee for a school attendance area in any of the county boroughs and urban districts mentioned in the Schedule to this Act may, subject to the approval of the council of the county borough or urban district and the sanction of the Minister, appoint and remove such officers as it thinks proper and subject to the sanction and approval aforesaid may fix and pay the remuneration of such officers.

(2) For the purposes of Part IV. of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925) (which relates to the superannuation of the officers of a local body), every school attendance committee shall be deemed to be a committee of a local authority and to be a local body within the meaning of the said Part IV. of the said Act, and the provisions of the said Part IV. shall in so far as the same are applicable apply to a school attendance committee and their officers in like manner as they apply to a committee of a local authority and their officers subject to the following modifications, that is to say:—

(a) the grant by a school attendance committee of any allowance or gratuity shall be subject to the approval of the council of the county borough or urban district by which the expenses of such school attendance committee are defrayed; and

(b) in the case of an officer of a school attendance committee appointed under the Irish Education Act, 1892, who becomes an officer of a school attendance committee under this Act, such officer's service under the former committee shall be reckoned as service under the latter committee.

(3) The Minister may at any time at his discretion remove any officer of any such school attendance committee as aforesaid.

(4) Every person who immediately before the commencement of this Act is an officer of a school attendance committee appointed under the Irish Education Act, 1892, for a school attendance area situate in a county borough or urban district mentioned in the Schedule to this Act shall immediately upon the commencement of this Act become and be an officer of the school attendance committee under this Act for that school attendance area as if he had been appointed under this section by the last-mentioned committee.

(5) No person shall be appointed by a school attendance committee to be an officer of such committee unless he possesses such qualifications as shall be prescribed by the Minister for Education, after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, as the necessary qualifications for such officer of such committee.

12 School attendance officers.

12.—(1) Every school attendance committee may by appointment in writing in the prescribed form signed by two members of the committee appoint such of its officers as it thinks fit to be school attendance officers for the purposes of this Act.