Waterford is the only county in Ireland without Educational Welfare Officers
Waterford is the only county without a full-time EWO.
Waterford is the only county in Ireland without a fulltime TUSLA Educational Welfare Officer (EWO).
EWOs provide support for both children and parents who may be experiencing challenges in attending school regularly.
According to TUSLA: "EWOs also work closely with two other school support services under the remit of TESS (TUSLA Education Support Service), namely the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) and the School Completion Programme (SCP) to secure better educational outcomes for children and young people."
TUSLA recently published their Annual Attendance Report (AAR), which stated that 8.6% of primary school days were lost to pupil absences in the 2022/23 academic year.
Sinn Féin Councillor Conor McGuinness spoke about the discrepancy, stating that Waterford had been left with "nothing".
Deputy McGuinness said: "Waterford has been left with nothing. All three EWO posts allocated to the county have been empty this whole academic year. Not one of them has been filled.
"That leaves Waterford as the worst-served county in the State. Every other county has at least one officer in place. We have none.
“Teachers, principals, and family support workers are doing their best – but they are being left without the staff or resources to intervene."
He continued: "The Minister has spoken at length about absenteeism. What he hasn’t done is fix the problem in Waterford. Comment is no substitute for action. These posts must be filled immediately, and the wider failures in education and child welfare services must be addressed.
He added: "Sinn Féin has consistently called for a fully resourced plan to tackle school attendance and support young people, including greater access to mental health services, reduced waiting times for assessments, and investment in school and community-based support teams.
"Families in Waterford deserve better. Children deserve support, not silence. This Government is failing them – and the consequences are being felt in families and communities every day.”
