Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To continue on from where my colleague left off, it seems there is no collaboration on this Topical Issue matter, even in terms of trying to get it organised here this evening. That has played out in terms of what has happened in Monaghan. We are an open nation, and we are welcoming, but we have to lead from the top. We need to ensure that all Departments are working together and that there is this wraparound service.

The Minister spoke about the Tusla education support service, TESS. TESS is a pilot service. It is not up and running across the country. It is only being rolled out to 2,000 schools. The Minister is looking for the intervention of TESS but we can hardly get that service in many schools that need it. There is a very long waiting list for it to be rolled out. We need to ensure that we do not put families into temporary accommodation. We need to ensure also that there is a wraparound service for all those families, particularly in terms of early years education. In terms of the children who need to engage in the ECCE scheme, it is not just the Department of Education and Skills that has a role. It is about ensuring that the younger children have the same opportunities.

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