The home Education Network is trenchant in its opposition to the Education (Welfare) Bill 1999, which is expected to go to the committee stage shortly and to be enacted before Christmas or in early January.

The provisions of the Bill seek to give "meaningful and effective implementation to the provision of the Constitution of Ireland as regards the education of children. The Constitution provides that each child has a constitutional right to receive an education; parents have a constitutional right to educate their children as they see fit; parents have a constitutional duty to educate their children; the State has a constitutional right to ensure that each child receives at least a minimum education."

Under the provisions of the Bill, children must attend a recognised school unless it is established that they are otherwise receiving a minimum education elsewhere. The Minister may set down minimum standards of education which a child should reach. In doing this, he must consult the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

Home educating parents must register their children with a new body, the National Educational Welfare Body (NEWB), which will have a wide remit to ensure that all children receive an adequate education.

Before a child can be registered, a person appointed by the NEWB must, with the consent of parents, inspect the education being provided and the premises to ensure that child is receiving at least a minimum education in a safe environment. Inspections will be made from time to time.

The NEWB may also, with the consent of parents, carry out an assessment, including a psychological assessment of a child to assess his or her educational abilities and needs. If parents refuse to give consent, the NEWB may apply to the courts for permission.

Failure to abide by the requirement to send a child to school or otherwise ensure that he or she receives a minimum education can lead to prosecution in court of the parents concerned.

HEN wants any mention of home education removed from this Bill, which they say deals with truancy and social disadvantage. Barbara Boland says the Bill is dealing with early school-leavers, and home educators are being linked in the same Bill with families who don't have the commitment to education. Boland asks about the idea of constant compulsory assessment: "Will one person come into our homes or several? There are children at school who need help and don't get it." She says that if the State can't guarantee a minimum education for children in State schools taught by State teachers, it is very unfair to impose arbitrary standards on home educators.

She says the Bill is punitive in tone and she suggests the model in place in the Australian state of Tasmania - which is supportive of homeschooling through provision of book grants and helpful information to parents - would be more appropriate.

"We want to say very clearly we are not going to back down on our demands. We are not going to cooperate with the provisions of this Bill, even if it means going to jail. We want to be out of the Bill."

A submission, compiled by solicitor Elizabeth Bruton on behalf of the Coalition of Irish Home Schools, states that the Bill is unconstitutional. "It ignores the acknowledgment by the State, that the family is the `primary and natural educator of the child', that this right is `inalienable' and that the education is in accordance with the parents' `means'," the submission says.