Taking your kids out of school early

[Donagh]

Well she has been on the radio this morning - did she give any good reason? I think she pretty much said it was nobody's business but hers. If she had a defence, i'd be pretty sure she'd use it.

It's not much of a story, but she's made herself an easy target for a slow news day.

She said it was a private matter, which it is. No one else would be expected to reveal such private matters in public and neither should she, regardless of your opinion on her or her politics. Complete gutter journalism from the Irish News and only confirms my long term boycott  of the rag.

[Bensars]

Firstly if she was there on official business, why the need to take a 12 yr old daughter ?

Whilst she was conducting the offical business, who was looking after the 12 year old ?
I have heard no mention of a childminder being brought along.

[Donagh]

Firstly if she was there on official business, why the need to take a 12 yr old daughter ?

What's makes you think you have a right to know. If your 12 year old was wetting the bed would you want it published in the papers and across the radio?

[Bensars]

I dont really need to know.
IMO you cant carry out offical business in another country with a 12 yr old child in tow.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Firstly if she was there on official business, why the need to take a 12 yr old daughter ?

What's makes you think you have a right to know. If your 12 year old was wetting the bed would you want it published in the papers and across the radio?

Come on, that's a complete red herring of a comparison. Ruane knows she's in the public eye as Education minister so I really can't understand why she did this. Surely she must have known that there was a chance it would get out and how bad it would look. And if there was a reasonable explanation, why didn't she just give it?

[Donagh]

Come on, that's a complete red herring of a comparison. Ruane knows she's in the public eye as Education minister so I really can't understand why she did this. Surely she must have known that there was a chance it would get out and how bad it would look. And if there was a reasonable explanation, why didn't she just give it?

Why is it a red herring? Where I work I deal with students and parents all the time who will reveal certain personal circumstances, but they would be mortified if I passed that information on to someone else. So long as they are not breaking the law, I am not compelled to pass that information on anyone and my word is enough to allow discretion in the application of the normal rules and guidelines. The only thing that matters here is that Ruane consulted with the childs teacher - it's no one elses business why she took her child from the school. 

[Minder]

Firstly if she was there on official business, why the need to take a 12 yr old daughter ?

Whilst she was conducting the offical business, who was looking after the 12 year old ?
I have heard no mention of a childminder being brought along.

According to the Irish News her husband was also present.

[pintsofguinness]

f**k sake who gives a shite.

Has the Irish news nothing else to write about and do people not have enough to worry about without worrying about this. 


I'm sure there arent many here who, at some stage, were taken out of school by their parents, maybe for a good reason or maybe for just a day out if they were heading somewhere - I'm sure plenty of those with children have done the same. 

Get a grip. 

[Maguire01]

I'm sure there arent many here who, at some stage, were taken out of school by their parents, maybe for a good reason or maybe for just a day out if they were heading somewhere - I'm sure plenty of those with children have done the same. 

Maybe. It's not a big deal. But the point is surely that other parents aren't Education Ministers who dictate that parents shouldn't do what she has done. As i've said, it's hardly a big deal - it was clearly a slow news day - but i doubt it would have been raised had she not been the Education Minister.

[pintsofguinness]

I'm sure there arent many here who, at some stage, were taken out of school by their parents, maybe for a good reason or maybe for just a day out if they were heading somewhere - I'm sure plenty of those with children have done the same. 

Maybe. It's not a big deal. But the point is surely that other parents aren't Education Ministers who dictate that parents shouldn't do what she has done. As i've said, it's hardly a big deal - it was clearly a slow news day - but i doubt it would have been raised had she not been the Education Minister.

The point wouldnt have been raised if she'd to leave the 11+ alone!

Whatever the views about her ability as a minister, and I'd have doubts myself, bringing a 12 year old child in to it is down right pathetic. 

people being put out of work, losing homes etc and people are worrying about a child being taken out of school for a couple of days 

[Myles Na G.]

Well she has been on the radio this morning - did she give any good reason? I think she pretty much said it was nobody's business but hers. If she had a defence, i'd be pretty sure she'd use it.

It's not much of a story, but she's made herself an easy target for a slow news day.

She said it was a private matter, which it is. No one else would be expected to reveal such private matters in public and neither should she, regardless of your opinion on her or her politics. Complete gutter journalism from the Irish News and only confirms my long term boycott  of the rag.

It's not a private matter when elected representatives tell the people to do one thing, yet reserve the right to do something different in their own 'private' life. So MPs at Westminster berate the benefit cheats and the dole fraudsters and the greedy bankers, while at the same time milking the taxpayer for every penny they can get to support their own lavish 'private' life. We've had instances of high ranking members of the Labour government (Blair, Harman) who insist the plebs should send their kids to the local comprehensive school while they, meanwhile, arrange for their kids to attend fee paying Catholic schools at the other side of London. Now we have Ruane taking her child out of school in term time, while ordinary Joes are threatened with dire consequences if they do the same. Nor is this Ruane's first offence. While living in Louth, she apparently sent one of her kids across the border to a grammar school in the north. Yep. That would be one of the same grammar schools Ruane is insisting should be abolished because selection is such an unfair system which penalises kids from poorer backgrounds. But that's her private life, right?

[brokencrossbar1]

Irrespective of the individual involved this is an issue that actually really bugs me. We were heading back up to the North last Christmas and went to the head master to say to him that we were looking to take the young lad out 2 days early.  I get on very well with him and have been on the PTA before so like Orior I was doing the right thing in my view.  He informed me that he couldn't obviously stop me but that they were coming under increasing pressure from the Dept of Education over "holiday time" absenteeism.  He said that although it was never wriiten down there was a reading between the lines attitude whenever funding was being requested that a school with poor attendance was less likely to get its funding as requested.  I don't know if that is across the board but he said to me that he was getting the same families every Easter and June time taking their kids out for the last few days of the term to take holidays and consequently the Board of Management had to send an official letter to all parents about it.

I do not see this as a non story, I see it as a very relevant story where the Minister of Education is thumbing her nose to the establishment she is designated to represent.  It may only be 3 days for her, but it is still breaking the spirit and probably the letter of the attendance regulations.

[Tony Baloney]

The sick part is she is in Cyprus to impart her "wisdom" on the education system here. If they want someone to advise on attempting to f**k up an education system through incompetence and intransigence to suit a particular political ethos then she's yer woman.

[pintsofguinness]

Now we have Ruane taking her child out of school in term time, while ordinary Joes are threatened with dire consequences if they do the same.

What consquences?

[muppet]

Jaysus this is a great nanny state we live in.

If I go to the pub, the one that I have to leave to have a smoke, I can't risk driving the kids to school the next morning in case I'm over the new low limit. So by not going to the school I can't get permission to keep the kids at home unless the school decides there is a good enough reason such as my death (note the family don't get to decide). But I wouldn't get the permission anyway because the State has decided not to give money (which it doesn't give anyway) for poor attendance.

Thank God Hitler and Stalin didn't win, imagine what it would have been like.