The Department of Education has no idea how many children missed more than 20 days of school last year, even though it introduced a rule that such cases be reported.
Neither the Department nor the National Education Welfare Board, founded one year ago, have systems for collating these statistics.
It has also emerged that children will be asked for their opinions on stopping truancy by a new group set up to monitor the problem. The new School Implementation Group, to be launched today, includes representatives of parents, principals and teachers' unions. Persistently truant children will also have their say as part of a "focus group".
Children in disadvantaged areas considered to be "at risk" of truancy and early school-leaving will be targeted by education welfare officers in the new school year, stated Mr Eddie Ward, chief executive officer of the board.
Only 76 of the 300 new education welfare officer jobs have been filled, due to financial constraints, so officers will not have time to look at the school attendance of the average child.
The middle-class, non-disadvantaged child who misses 20 days of school because he or she was taken on too many winter holidays abroad is unlikely to be investigated. However, the INTO urged parents last night to think twice about scheduling holidays in term-time.
The new board will be raising consciousness among parents on the importance of ensuring their children's school attendance.
The INTO has condemned the Department of Education for failing to fund sufficiently the new board. It is also insisting that teachers and principals not be overburdened by the requirement to keep and report information on children's attendance records.
The new education welfare officers, who are more social workers than truant officers, received a 10 per cent pay rise last year in recognition of the expansion of their role to year-round work. In the last academic year, the Department of Education introduced a rule that any child who misses more than 20 days of school must be reported to the Department of Education.
In some areas of the State, schools have 30 per cent truancy rates, according to the schools themselves. One of the tasks of the new board will be to introduce an organised, national system of school attendance.