Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I raise this very important issue, which has come to my attention of late. I understand the Minister of State will take the matter on behalf of his colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

One of the best things the previous Government did was to introduce free pre-school places for all children. The Government did some wrong things but this was one of its better judgments. At the time, it was indicated that children with special educational needs would have the opportunity to have two years free pre-school. Prior to that, special needs assistants were assigned to most children with special needs in pre-schools. This was funded through the HSE budget for special supports for pre-school children with disabilities.

When the ECCE scheme was introduced, the HSE early intervention teams were told children could apply for a second free pre-school year. Exemptions were to be allowed where children had been assessed by the HSE or a treating consultant as having special needs that would delay their entry to school or if the enrolment policy of the local primary school was to accept children at an older age. Those were the circumstances in which a child could apply for a second year of pre-school.

In the wider Mullingar district and 75% of County Westmeath, only 20 children are currently waiting for their second free pre-school. When funding was cut in last year's budget it was announced that there would be a saving of €500,000. Having listened to the figures quoted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, a saving of €500,000 seems very small.

Parents of children with special needs are unable to keep their children at home and are sending them to primary school although the children are not intellectually ready for primary school. This is putting additional pressure on primary schools, and on the special needs services and general resources for primary schools. We need to revisit this because when funding was provided by the HSE in Mullingar, it was specified that it would be used for one hour of one-to-one tuition every day the child was in preschool. That hour was spent on the goals and therapies outlined by the early intervention team. The Minister of State will be aware that the early stage of childhood development is critically important to children's long-term development. This is even more so the case for special needs children. I have spoken to parents of special needs children and they have related their great joy and expectations when they see their children entering preschool. They see the work done as they progress but this is being cut back. These parents are physically and emotionally exhausted and they are unable to fight for themselves, which is why I am raising this issue.

They are falling between Departments. The HSE says preschool is not a health-related issue while the Department of Education and Skills says it has no legal obligation to children until they are aged six. In fairness to the new Government, it has created a new Department to deal with children's issues and it has a golden opportunity to put in place a comprehensive support system for children with special needs attending preschool. I would like the Minister of State to convey the message to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs that something needs to be done in this regard. I do not want him to reply that this is all about what happened in the past. The Government has choices. Only 30 minutes ago, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform claimed the first thing the Government did was implement changes to the EU-IMF deal. Through these changes, I would like the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to appoint additional SNAs and to provide a second free preschool place for children with special needs. They have nothing; it is as if they do not exist. The new Department has a golden opportunity to do this. I ask the Minister of State to relay this to the Minister and to reply with some good news.

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