Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There will be a range of universal and targeted supports, just like there are for AIM. There will be universal supports as regards better training for everybody in settings in terms of social inclusion and how to act on that within the particular setting. Better information will be provided to all parents so they understand what the supports available to them are. Not all parents know about the NCS, for example, or AIM. It is a matter of better informing parents as to what is there for them. There will be targeted supports as well. One of the first set of targeted supports, the one we will start introducing from September of this year, is financial support for additional staff in settings which are in areas of high disadvantage, allowing staff to spend more time with children who need that additional time. There will also be additional financial support for things such as nutrition and meals, again recognising that services working in areas of high disadvantage probably do not have the same level of fee support. We can step in and ensure the best level of nutrition.

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