Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government has been dragging its heels over making the preschool year universally accessible. Supports for children with care needs while attending the free preschool year are still very much an issue. It is not acceptable that the Government has still failed after all this time to put in place something similar to the SNA provision system run by the National Council for Special Education.

I welcome the Minister's good intentions outlined in his reply to my question. However, the main issue at hand is the fact that there simply are not the proper facilities, equipment or even a high enough level of training in most crèches to deal with the needs of children with varying disabilities during a preschool year.

While Dublin may be in a better position in some instances to provide services to families, rural areas are seriously under-resourced in the area of special needs. What steps are being taken as of now to ensure children with special needs will not be discriminated against or treated differently?

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