Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

On the point I was trying to make in respect of summer provision, the Minister's response was that not all of the schools are taking it up and it is a voluntary programme. That is the point. It needs to be standardised. When it is voluntary, that means there are children who are not able to access education. The point I was trying to get across is that children are entitled to that education. Throughout the summer, we had families taking unpaid leave for the month of July. Do they have to do the same for August? There has to be a standardised approach to the summer programme so that it is not the case that some children get it but others do not. It is a necessity for some families.