Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of school places, especially for ASD units, and parents paying to get their children assessed. Several people have come into my clinic who cannot get their children assessed. These people are borrowing from credit unions and their own parents. The cost of getting assessments has gone so high that they are really under pressure. The CSO indicators show that 15.2% of children live at risk of poverty, and with 190,000 children, a child in one in every seven households experiences poverty. We now have a situation where it is just not possible to get children assessed because there is no one there to assess them. Families are trying to get children assessed privately.

Another issue I wish to contribute on concerns the new childminding regulations and the concerns in this regard. I have spoken to several childminders in recent weeks. There was a 12-week consultation. I did ask the Minister, Roderic O'Gorman, for extra time, but the consultation closed on 2 May and he did not extend it. The regulations in this regard do not reflect the reality of childminding and how it works. More than 300 childminders registered and yet there was no consultation, as such, and no information provided. Childminders are not happy. We must really look at this matter.

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