Mr. Dalton Tattan:

There could be a few reasons for that. To clarify, the figure of 20,000 to 24,000 relates to eligibility, so that is the potential universe of children who could benefit from the scheme as we have constructed it. Up until this year, July provision only applied to children with autism and those with severe or profound intellectual disabilities, and in a typical year there would have been a cohort of 15,000 and about 10,000 or 10,500, or two thirds, of them would typically take it up. The figure of 14,000 is not far off that. As the Deputy noted, one would expect there to be more this year but from talking to parents I know and others who contact the Department, some would have concerns for their children about going back now. They might think it safer to wait and see how things progress for Ireland on the Covid-19 issue through the summer and wait until the autumn. While the schools being closed is far from ideal, if they have put up with it for this length of time they may be prepared to wait a bit longer just to see. Some will have made that decision out of an abundance of caution.