James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State, in particular for the remarks he made off script, which are welcome. I acknowledge that a commitment to examine and expand the AIM programme to make it available to younger children is contained in the programme for Government. I have concerns, however, with some of the language the Department used in the reply that was prepared for the Minister of State, whereby it needs to examine the evidence. Ultimately, why is a child aged two years and ten months, two years and nine months or two years and six months, with whatever additional need that child has, different from a child of three years and one month? There is not a lot of evidence to examine. Rather, a technocratic structure needs to be deployed to support parents who have children under the age of eligibility. I fully acknowledge that at every juncture where a new system is introduced, it cannot be done overnight. There has to be a structure in which it can be done. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the senior line Minister in this respect and ask for her commitment that this matter will be brought to the Cabinet committee on disability and given significant priority.

At the end of the day, just like the mother who phoned me during the week whose child has effectively been iced out of having a preschool setting, no doubt there are countless examples around the country where unfortunately because of the medical or additional need of a child, there is no childcare setting that can support him or her. That is not something we should be able to support as a State.

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