Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have been told in this Chamber on many occasions that the Government has not cut resources in this area but, as the Minister knows well, demand has risen dramatically. The children who are now suffering the most are the new ones coming into schools. They are already starting off on a weak footing, given that there is no SNA support for children in the preschool year. Not only are they at a disadvantage at the ages of three and four, they are falling further behind because the Government is not prepared to put SNA support into the free preschool year. It beggars belief that those who most need the Minister's help are getting the least of it at this stage. We all know what early investment means and how vital it is. It would be a bit like the Government coming up with a housing policy and building some social houses but deciding to put the homeless at the bottom of the list and let them wait the longest.

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