Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Lovely. Go raibh maith agat. I am incredibly grateful that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is here to take this question. It is of great local and personal importance to my constituents and to me. I had hoped the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, would take the question, but I was informed late yesterday evening that he was not in a position to do so. I will certainly not waste any time trying to figure that out.

The background to this case is that I visited the Kidz Haven Crèche in Shannon. I give a big shout out to the lovely children there and the fantastic staff who made me feel incredibly welcome. In particular, I thank the owner, Siobhán Mulderrig. She has been a childcare provider for the past 21 years and I believe she was the first-ever childcare provider in Shannon. I visited because of a little child whom we are calling Alex, who has cerebral palsy and complex needs and therefore needs specialised equipment to fully participate in the crèche with their peers. Alex is unable to sit unattended without a support seat and requires a specific room or Buddy walker to move and play. At two and a half years old, Alex was three months too young for the early childhood care and education scheme, which applies to children aged over two years and eight months.

As such, Alex gets no AIM support for essential equipment. Alex is just like any other two-and-a-half-year-old. They love to play with their friends, sing and take part in activities which are arranged around their needs, but Alex cannot even sit at the table and eat their snacks with the other children due to a lack of a suitable chair. They are using a tea towel wedged at the side of the current chair to make it as comfortable as possible. Alex can only walk around and play if their parents drag this cumbersome walker in with them every day at 8 a.m. This puts the chair at risk of being damaged not to mention how difficult that is for the parents on any given day. They are sharing a walker from Alex's home. Does the Minister of State think that is acceptable?

It is interesting to note there was an exemption for the upper age limit. I know this because my son, Travis, was able to avail of that exemption. However, there is no exemptions process for the lower age limit, which is what is needed in this case, and I am sure there are many others. I came into politics because my family was being affected by policy and I wanted to make a difference. I know we are not from the same political dominion but I am sure the Minister of State came into politics for similar reasons. That is what I hope to achieve here today: to make a difference for Alex and to ensure they are not left in this situation that neither of us would want to see our own children in.

In her role, the Minister of State would have an understanding and appreciation of the power of non-verbal communication, and that was in abundance at my visit. I could see very clearly that Alex wants to participate in that education setting. They are a very bright, wonderful and, if I can say, beautiful child. It was a heartbreaking experience to see the kind of struggles Alex faces daily, so I said I would bring this to the floor of the Chamber. I extended the invitation at the time to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and I know Siobhán would be more than happy to facilitate any such meeting in the future. It was disappointing that no one from the Minister's Department or even the party was able to be present on the day.

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