Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will finish to this point and move on to the next question then. This is not normal for the simple reason that these children are the ones who are most in need and they thrive on routine and early intervention. Part of it is that those parents are hugely frustrated and they need to get their children back into it. It is the childcare providers who are getting the brunt of this because they are trying to work to a very tight funding model and funding is not available to incorporate children with special needs. I thank Dr. Lynch for answering the question. I fully appreciate what he said.

Dr. Lynch also touched on the ECCE programme and he referred to September.

Will the ECCE scheme be returning in September? There was much confusion and anxiety earlier on regarding where the funding model is going to go from August. Will our guests clarify if we are going to have ECCE in September? Has the Department worked with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on it? Has the Department had the conversation around the next phase of funding?