Hanafin ‘trying to rubbish’ dropout figures

THE Government has been accused of trying to rubbish Census figures revealed by the Irish Examiner which show that school dropout rates have doubled in the past decade.

Data in a report last month from the 2006 Census and compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that 6.3% of 15-year-olds were no longer in full-time education last year, compared to a mere 3.1% of the same age group in 1996.

Raising the figures in the Dáil yesterday, Fine Gael education spokesperson Brian Hayes said the fact that 3,700 15-year-olds had left post-primary education last year showed Education Minister Mary Hanafin and the Government had failed to tackle the problem for the past 10 years.