Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Creed for raising this matter. It is very obvious from his contribution that he has taken a considerable interest in this matter, which I appreciate. Notwithstanding the financial pressures on the health system, I assure the Deputy that the Government is fully committed to the ongoing delivery of vital services and supports to children with disabilities to the greatest extent possible within available resources.

The free preschool year is provided through the early childhood care and education programme, ECCE, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. I note this is another Department which has entered the fray. The objective of this scheme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to eligible children in the year before they commence primary school. I understand that certain flexibilities are built into the scheme in an effort to accommodate children with special needs, such as an over age exemption or waiver for children with special needs who do not meet the age criteria, as well as the option to split the free preschool year over two years.

While the HSE has no statutory obligation to provide supports for children with special needs wishing to avail of the free preschool year, it works at local level and in partnership with the relevant disability service providers to address individual needs as these arise. This is done in a number of ways such as providing grant aid to support preschool provision in community preschools and by funding special preschools catering specifically for children with disabilities. In some cases at local level disability services have also facilitated children with disabilities to attend mainstream preschools by providing assistant supports where possible.

As the Deputy suggested, the HSE national programme for progressing disability services for children and young people from birth to 18 years aims to achieve a national, unified approach to delivering disability health services. This programme, when implemented, should mean greater equity in accessing services based on need, clearer referral pathways to these services and improved collaboration between the sectors. An additional €4 million has been specifically allocated in 2014 to drive implementation of the programme. This equates to approximately 80 therapy posts. The HSE's role in supporting children with disabilities involves working in close co-operation with the disability service providers it funds, the education sector, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the parents and families of the children in question.

There is a need to strengthen these arrangements, however, and a dedicated cross-sectoral team, comprising representatives of my Department, the HSE, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, plays a key role in fostering greater collaboration on children's disability issues and building on the existing cross-sectoral working arrangements. A subgroup of this cross-sectoral team has been set up to examine the issues around the integration of children with disabilities into mainstream preschool settings, building on previous analysis in this area. Representatives of the Departments of Health, Children and Youth Affairs, and Education and Skills, the Health Service Executive and the city and county child care committees are members of this group which is chaired by the Department of Health. The issue of supports for children with disabilities in mainstream preschool settings is being examined by the subgroup.

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