Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On subhead C5, I note that there is a reduction of 25% in the allocation. I would have imagined that it was under this subhead we would have been dealing with the allocation of funding for the early years strategy, a strategy which the Government promised a number of years ago would deal comprehensively with our vision for the development of this crucial sector. What is the position on the strategy and when will it be published? Will the cross-departmental group about which the Minister spoke regarding the affordability of child care feed into the strategy?

Will the cross-sectoral teams, about which the Minister has spoken, with regard to supporting children with special educational needs who want to attend a mainstream school be integrated into the early years strategy? Will appropriate funding be put in place, not simply to publish an early years strategy but, more critically, to implement it?