Father ‘facing jail time’ over son’s truancy

A FATHER is facing jail time and his wife could be fined after a judge heard that their child missed at least 243 days of primary school over a three-year period.

The couple, from Dublin, were prosecuted by the Child and Family Agency following concerns about the high number of days of school missed by their son, whose age was not stated at Dublin District Court yesterday.

Neither the mother or father, who moved to the UK near the end of last year, attended the hearing. The father phoned an education and welfare officer shortly beforehand to tell him that his absence was a result of his ‘bad back’.

Judge John Brennan said the couple had shown contempt for the court by not turning up. He said the court was minded to impose a onemonth jail sentence on the father and for the mother to be fined.

He adjourned the case until April.