Warrants for the arrests of eight parents who are facing jail sentences for failing to keep their children in school have been issued but have not yet been executed, The Irish Timesunderstands.
However, the parents face up to a month in jail if they continue to refuse to pay fines issued by Rathkeale District Court in Co Limerick last year.
Warrants for the arrests and imprisonment of the parents were issued by the court following cases taken in July of last year under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000. This legislation requires parents to keep children at school until the age of 16.
Ten parents were given three months to pay fines imposed by the court. However, it emerged yesterday that warrants have since been issued for eight of the parents who failed to pay the fines. It is understood that these have not yet been executed, and that the parents in question may be given more time to pay the fines before this occurs.
The 10 who appeared before the court were Patrick and Nora Quilligan, Roches Road; Pa and Jean Quilligan, St Mary's Terrace; Martina and Jeremiah O'Brien, Roches Road; Thomas and Ann Kealy, Abbeylands; and John and Kathleen Kealy, Abbeylands, all in Rathkeale. Only two of the 10, Ann Kealy and Kathleen Kealy, have paid their fines.
According to evidence given in court, the parents of the five children involved are members of the transient Travelling community who had addresses in Rathkeale but who spent long periods abroad, mainly in Germany, working in construction.
In a statement issued yesterday, the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) stressed that legal action was "a measure of last resort".
It added that a school attendance notice was the first step in enforcing the law.
The NEWB has issued these notices to the parents of some 102 children so far this year, it said.
Martin Collins of the Pavee Point Traveller organisation said it was "unfortunate" the matter had come to a head in this way.
He acknowledged the efforts of the NEWB to facilitate those members of the Travelling community to comply with the legislation, but suggested the need for a "complete overhaul" of the education system to better meet the needs of Traveller children.
Traveller parents were also sometimes reluctant to send their children to school due to fear of harassment, discrimination and bullying, he said.