Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Minister's response, but I do not believe that that €1 million is going to cut it. I attended a meeting yesterday in Cork. It was entitled "perfect storm". I believe it was aptly named because it was about the combination of the changes in regulation, the new child care scheme and the pressures on the community sector generally. It related specifically to 13 services in and around Cork city and 349 children attending those. As the Minister will be aware, I am on the board of management of one of those as a non-executive director. It is an issue of very particular concern. They believe that those 13 services in Cork city will all be closed by September 2018. This is obviously not just about Cork, it is a nationwide issue. The Minister is aware of the benefits of this in terms of early intervention. Clearly, there is a need for a recognition of how we fund these services for the complex additional needs that many children attending these services have. For example, in Cork, 26% of the children attending those community services have an additional need and 24% are awaiting diagnosis. There needs to be a financial recognition of that additional need.

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