Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With the AIM programme in preschools, the information available to preschools is something the Department of Education and Youth needs early on to properly plan for children a year and a half out from their getting a place in the education system. Much information is in silos in Departments and it is about breaking down those silos. AIM is run by the Department of children. There are domiciliary care applications as well, and the number of families getting domiciliary care has doubled in recent years. We need that data properly correlated and made available to the Department so we can plan. Protocols are being developed. It was mentioned at one of the early committee meetings on disability that we should have them. I think there is goodwill from all Departments about developing a protocol for getting that information earlier. That would help with early intervention classes and across the education system. We are working to break down the silos between Departments.