Teenage boy has learning capacity of six-year-old due to educational neglect

A 13-year-old boy at the centre of a judge’s threat to jail his parents for Christmas has the learning capacity of a six-year-old due to chronic educational neglect by his parents.

At Ennis District Court yesterday, solicitor for the Child and Family Agency (CFA) Kevin Sherry said the case "is as bad as it gets in terms of the boy's parents failing in their legal and moral obligation concerning the educational needs of their child".

“There is no defence here to the chronic educational neglect,” he said.

Mr Sherry said the teen has an 82 per cent absenteeism rate from Irish and UK schools since October of last year, when the CFA first brought the matter to court. And his 14-year-old sister has an absenteeism rate of 94 per cent during the same period.

Judge Patrick Durcan asked solicitor for the two parents, John Casey if his clients "realise the damage that they are doing to their children".

“Neither parent has had much education and I have explained to them that there is absolutely no benefit to the kids and that it is all detrimental to them. The learning ability of the boy for someone his age is very poor,” Mr Casey responded.

“It is the usual ‘You can lead a horse to water, but can’t make him drink’ and these people know now what to do.”

Judge Durcan adjourned the prosecution by the CFA against the couple into Wednesday’s court from earlier this month, with a warning to the parents that they faced jail unless there was 100 per cent school attendance for their two children from December 6th.

Mr Sherry said, on Wednesday, there had been 100 per cent attendance for the two children since then and it was the family’s intention to return to England in January.

He said the family had been going over and back between the two jurisdictions.

Judge Durcan accused the parents of “playing the system and playing every system under the sun”.

He fined each parent €1,000 concerning the non-attendance at school of the two children.