No. 79/1926:

THE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE (HOURS OF ATTENDANCE) ORDER, 1926.

THE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE (HOURS OF ATTENDANCE) ORDER, 1926.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ACT, 1926 .

WHEREAS by section 23 of the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926), it is enacted that the Minister for Education may by order prescribe any matter or thing which is in that Act referred to as prescribed or to be prescribed,

AND WHEREAS by sub-section (1) of section 4 of the said Act it is enacted that the parent of every child to whom that Act applies shall, unless there is a reasonable excuse for not so doing, cause the child to attend a national or other suitable school on every day on which such school is open for secular instruction and for such time on every such day as shall be prescribed or sanctioned by the Minister for Education in respect of such day,

NOW I, JOHN MARCUS O'SULLIVAN, in exercise of the power conferred on me by the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926), and of every and any other power me in this behalf enabling, do hereby order as follows :—

1. This Order may be cited as the School Attendance (Hours of Attendance) Order, 1926.

2. In this Order, the expression " the Act " means the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926) ; the expression " the Minister " means the Minister for Education, and the word " meeting " means a period of secular instruction continuous in duration save for regular intervals for recreation or religious instruction and regular breaks or remissions.

3. A child shall be deemed to be an infant for the purposes of this Order from the date on which the Act first applies to him until,

(a) in the case of a child born during the first six months of any year, the 30th day of June next after the eighth anniversary of his birth, or

(b) in the case of a child born during the last six months of any year, the 30th day of June next after the seventh anniversary of his birth.

4. The Interpretation Act, 1923 (No. 46 of 1923), applies to the interpretation of this Order in like manner as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas.

5. (1) For the purposes of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the act, the prescribed time for the attendance of every child to whom the Act applies at a national or other suitable school on every day (not being a Saturday) on which such school is open for secular instruction shall (save as is hereinafter otherwise provided) be as follows, that is to say :

(a) When the school has one meeting only on such days,

(i) in the case of an infant, three hours reckoned from the completion of the roll call held at the commencement of such meeting, and

(ii) in the case of any other child, four hours reckoned from the completion of the roll call held at the commencement of such meeting ;

the said periods of three hours and four hours respectively may include one interval not exceeding half an hour for recreation and a break or remission not exceeding five minutes at the end of any hour of instruction which is not followed by an interval for recreation, but no other or longer interval, break, or remission shall be reckoned in the said periods ;

(b) when the school has two meetings on such days,

(i) in the case of an infant, one and one-half hours at each such meeting reckoned from the completion of the roll call held at the commencement of the meeting, and

(ii) in the case of any other child, two hours at each such meeting reckoned from the completion of the roll call held at the commencement of the meeting ;

the said periods of one and one-half hours and two hours respectively may include one interval not exceeding ten minutes for recreation, but no other or longer interval, break, or remission shall be reckoned in the said periods.

(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the act, the prescribed time for the attendance of every child to whom the Act applies at a national or other suitable school on any Saturday on which such school is open for secular instruction for the pupils of such school as a whole shall be as follows, that is to say :

(i) in the case of an infant, one and one-half hours reckoned from the completion of the roll call held at the commencement of the meeting, and

(ii) in the case of any other child, two hours reckoned from the completion of the roll held at the commencement of the meeting ;

the said periods of one and one-half and two hours respectively may include one interval not exceeding ten minutes for recreation, but no other or longer interval, break, or remission shall be reckoned in the said periods.

(3) In the case of a suitable school (other than a national school) which on a particular day of the week (not being Saturday) is regularly open for secular instruction for a period of substantially shorter duration than (but not less than half) the period or total period prescribed in sub-clause (1) of this paragraph for such school, the prescribed time for the attendance of every child to whom this Act applies at such school on such particular day of the week shall be the time prescribed in sub-clause (2) of this clause if but only if, such school is regularly open on Saturday for secular instruction for the pupils as a whole for the period prescribed in the said sub-clause (2).

(4) Whenever during the whole or any part of a period hereinbefore prescribed for the attendance of a child at a school such child is actually receiving medical or dental treatment under a scheme approved under the Public Health (Medical Treatment of Children) (Ireland) Act, 1919, or, instead of attending school, is attending elsewhere for the purpose sanctioned by the Minister, the time during which such child is so receiving treatment or is so attending elsewhere may be reckoned in such period.

Given under my Seal of Office, this 22nd day of December, 1926.

(Signed) J. M. O'SULLIVAN,

Minister for Education.