Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not expect the Minister to have the information I am seeking today. However, will the Minister come back to me and identify exactly the number of children with special educational needs who are availing of the free preschool year? The Minister said these numbers only reflected the people who take out exemptions. What is happening at the moment is rather ad hoc in nature. The HSE is involved, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is involved and the Department of Education and Skills is involved. The current contract for the free preschool year gives child care providers the option to refuse children with special educational needs if they do not have the resources to cater for their individual needs, and that is what is happening. This was raised when we discussed the matter under Private Members' business. There is anecdotal evidence of this taking place throughout the country because of the ad hoc nature of how the service is being administered. It raises the question of whether this is truly a universal scheme, since the legislation enables contractors to refuse a child with special educational needs on the grounds that the State is not giving them the necessary supports to ensure service provision for these children. Just as a child with no special educational needs is entitled to go to free preschool in mainstream education, so should these children.

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