Mother faces jail for refusing to pay home-schooling assessment fine
A mother is preparing to face prison today after she refused to pay a fine over her children's home schooling.
Monica O'Connor and her husband Eddie O'Neill have six children who have all been educated at home. Eddie is also expecting to serve a sentence at a later date.
Monica's fine relates to the fact that she did not apply for permission to have the education she provides to two of her younger children assessed.
She said she was not taking the prospect of jail lightly but that she felt she had to make a stand.
"I've had fairly sleepless nights since the conversation with the local guard about being taken away," she said, "but it's about how much of an example do you want to be to your children.
"It's about saying 'This far and no further'. You can push us around and erode our rights, but it's very important to us that our choice of how we choose to live with our children is respected. There's no price on that."
