A leading garda in Mayo has stressed the need for gardaí to be returned their powers of enforcement when it comes to children and teenagers playing truant from school.
Superintendent Willie Keaveney told a meeting of the joint policing committee on Monday that in 2000 a decision was made to appoint enforcement officers to check on young people who are not attending school. However these appointments were never made and now there is no one working directly on this problem.
Supt Keaveney said problems arise when parent control breaks down at home and 15- and 16-year-olds stop attending school and no one knows who they are or where they are. They slip through the system.
Councillor Cyril Burke made a proposal, which was adopted, that a letter be sent from the joint policing committee to the Minister for Justice asking him to reinstate gardaí as enforcement officers.
