James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The interdepartmental group will be critical in assessing these issues. Children with special needs should not be taken out of that group but should be treated within that group with the same respect and degree of analysis and scrutiny as all other groups. As I said, many children with disabilities participate in the free preschool year without seeking the exemptions that I mentioned earlier. The figure for take-up of those provisions is far smaller than the number of children in the programme who would be entitled to do so.

This area is one that concerns me. A good start in life is critical, and nowhere more so than when one has a child with special needs. What we all want for our children is that they reach their full potential. By investing in children with special needs early in life, one reduces their dependence on others later in life in a major way.

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