Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I raise this very important issue, which has come to my attention of late. I understand the Minister of State will take the matter on behalf of his colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

One of the best things the previous Government did was to introduce free pre-school places for all children. The Government did some wrong things but this was one of its better judgments. At the time, it was indicated that children with special educational needs would have the opportunity to have two years free pre-school. Prior to that, special needs assistants were assigned to most children with special needs in pre-schools. This was funded through the HSE budget for special supports for pre-school children with disabilities.

When the ECCE scheme was introduced, the HSE early intervention teams were told children could apply for a second free pre-school year. Exemptions were to be allowed where children had been assessed by the HSE or a treating consultant as having special needs that would delay their entry to school or if the enrolment policy of the local primary school was to accept children at an older age. Those were the circumstances in which a child could apply for a second year of pre-school.

In the wider Mullingar district and 75% of County Westmeath, only 20 children are currently waiting for their second free pre-school. When funding was cut in last year's budget it was announced that there would be a saving of €500,000. Having listened to the figures quoted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, a saving of €500,000 seems very small.

Parents of children with special needs are unable to keep their children at home and are sending them to primary school although the children are not intellectually ready for primary school. This is putting additional pressure on primary schools, and on the special needs services and general resources for primary schools. We need to revisit this because when funding was provided by the HSE in Mullingar, it was specified that it would be used for one hour of one-to-one tuition every day the child was in preschool. That hour was spent on the goals and therapies outlined by the early intervention team. The Minister of State will be aware that the early stage of childhood development is critically important to children's long-term development. This is even more so the case for special needs children. I have spoken to parents of special needs children and they have related their great joy and expectations when they see their children entering preschool. They see the work done as they progress but this is being cut back. These parents are physically and emotionally exhausted and they are unable to fight for themselves, which is why I am raising this issue.

They are falling between Departments. The HSE says preschool is not a health-related issue while the Department of Education and Skills says it has no legal obligation to children until they are aged six. In fairness to the new Government, it has created a new Department to deal with children's issues and it has a golden opportunity to put in place a comprehensive support system for children with special needs attending preschool. I would like the Minister of State to convey the message to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs that something needs to be done in this regard. I do not want him to reply that this is all about what happened in the past. The Government has choices. Only 30 minutes ago, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform claimed the first thing the Government did was implement changes to the EU-IMF deal. Through these changes, I would like the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to appoint additional SNAs and to provide a second free preschool place for children with special needs. They have nothing; it is as if they do not exist. The new Department has a golden opportunity to do this. I ask the Minister of State to relay this to the Minister and to reply with some good news.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has responsibility for implementing the free preschool year in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme, which was introduced in January 2010. The programme provides for a free preschool year for all eligible children in the year prior to commencing primary school. Currently, 63,000 children availing of the preschool year. This represents 94% of all children in the eligible cohort, which is a significant success for the programme at this early stage. It is a mainstream programme, provided by almost every preschool service in the State.

These services are required, under the Equal Status Acts, 2000 to 2004, to make reasonable accommodation for children with special needs. While there is no additional provision under the ECCE programme for children with special needs, they can avail of it on a pro rata basis over two years. For example, a child may attend for two days per week during the first year and for three days per week in the second year. Experience to date demonstrates that many parents find this very helpful for a range of reasons. In many cases, specialist preschool services arrange for children attending their services to also attend a mainstream service for one, two or three days a week. In other cases, children have special health needs which mean that they are unable to attend on a five-day basis each week.

There is also the reality that children who need additional supports to attend a preschool service are more likely to receive six or nine hours per week rather than the 15 hours that would be necessary if the ECCE programme were taken over one year. In addition, an exception is allowed to the upper age limit for eligibility for the programme. The age range within which children qualify for the programme is, generally, between three years two months and four years and seven months in September of the relevant year. However, where a child has been assessed by the HSE or a treating consultant as having a special need which will delay his or her entry to primary school, the upper age limit is disregarded. Experience to date again demonstrates that this exception is beneficial to many children, for whom starting school closer to six years of age is more appropriate.

The ECCE programme has transformed the landscape for preschool service provision. This change must be responded to by the support services on the ground. Support services for preschool children are provided by the HSE. The office of disability and mental health in the Department of Health has overall responsibility for these services. In February 2010, the then office of the Minister with responsibility for children and youth affairs raised this issue with the office of disability and mental health. A working group, led by the office of disability and mental health in collaboration with the HSE and the office of the Minister for children and youth affairs was set up to consider how the existing arrangements for support services for children with special needs might be revised to make better use of existing resources and achieve better outcomes. I understand that this group is expected to report shortly. The implementation of actions to improve the existing arrangements for service provision must be a key priority for the Department of Health as well as for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to ensure equal access for all children to preschool education.

There is no entitlement under the ECCE programme to a second preschool year. Following the introduction of the programme in January 2010, it was decided to provide a second period of preschool provision in a limited number of cases, on the basis that the first period of provision was a "short year". The second period of preschool provision year, which was allowed in September 2010, was confined to children with severe disabilities who would be expected to benefit significantly from a second period of preschool in a mainstream setting prior to going on to primary school.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs believes that the programme is an important development in early education and that it is particularly welcome as a universal programme which means all children have equal access and begin school on an equal footing. She is committed to continuing the programme and to improving it over time as resources allow. She believes the pro rata option for children with special needs is a practical and helpful option for many parents and children, as is the option for delayed entry.

While the Minister will explore ways in which the ECCE and other programmes can be improved and made more accessible for children with special needs, she believes that one of the most urgent actions that needs to be taken relates to making sure we achieve the best outcomes from existing resources to provide better supports within preschool services for children with special needs. As she indicated to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, Children and Youth Affairs last week, she has asked the Department to examine options, including the extension of a second free preschool year to children with special needs and, eventually, to all children. However, in recognition of the current fiscal constraints within which the Government must operate, any such proposals will have to be rigorously assessed in the context of the multi-year comprehensive expenditure review and future estimates processes, which is very much part of an ongoing debate.

The Minister is committed to working closely with other Departments, agencies and organisations to achieve improvements in the lives and the opportunities of all of our children and young people, including children and young people with special needs. I thank Deputy Troy for raising this important matter and I hope this reply addresses some of his concerns.