Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Murphy, for taking this issue. It has been a difficult task over the past few years as we are talking about children and specifically the education of children, with funding coming through the Health Service Executive. Really, the issue spans three Departments but I am focusing on support and funding, which comes under the Department of Health.

It is safe to say that early years are some of the most important in our lives. In particular, the preschool years are so important when it comes to children's learning.

Children are constantly learning new things. They are constantly developing as young children and they develop new friendships outside the family. Until they reach a certain age, their families provides all the support needed, but it is important that children be allowed to create their own identities and to grow. It is equally important that they grow and develop with their own peers, in an environment with other young children. Nobody, whether he or she has a physical disability, a mental disability, a health problem or any other kind of problem, should be left behind. Everybody should be given the same opportunity.

This Government has turned the focus back onto children. We are the first Government to create a Department specifically for children and young people and that is particularly important to me. A large part of my week is spent focusing on issues relating to children and young adults. The previous Government introduced the free early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme, which has worked very well, and I am glad to see that our Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy James Reilly, has extended that this year, among other initiatives focusing on children and their development. I thank the Minister for the work he has done in the past year and in particular for the recent additional funding to help those with disabilities to access this free year. There must be equal inclusion for all.

In my own county we have Meath Fight for the Future, an organisation made up of mothers, fathers, carers and service providers fighting for the rights of their children and other children with special needs. While there should not be groups such as this, there are, and I hope their time will soon be done. At the moment, children in Meath who have a disability are getting funding through the HSE to avail of additional supports, so the 15 hours are often split over the two years. Some are getting two days in one year and three in the following year.

The Minister has announced an additional €10 million in funding and he is launching the report of the interdepartmental group, which will set out the model for the support soon enough. However, we have a situation in Meath in which there are six children who have no additional support and no additional funding. While the funding was not cut this year, due mainly to the campaign led by Meath Fight for the Future - I thank the HSE for the support it is providing - 15 children are not getting any funding this year and there are more children who need to avail of the additional support. Not only are they not getting the 15 hours, they are not even getting the two days, and it is not fair. It is extremely stressful and upsetting for parents and for the children themselves.

Children are smart; they pick up on the smallest of things. In fact, they pick up on everything. For a child not to be able to avail of the free ECCE year along with his or her peers is not right. It is not going to cost a lot of money. We are not talking about hundreds of children - we are talking about six - so surely some funding can be found until next year, when the scheme is properly brought in, so that these children are not left wanting. I welcome the fact that things are going to happen next year, but parents should not have to suffer for it this year. I ask the Minister to help in any way he can or to consider some form of support for these children.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McEntee for raising this important matter. The ECCE programme is the responsibility of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. While a certain flexibility has been built in to the programme to facilitate the inclusion of children with a disability, the children and young people's policy framework, Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, contained a commitment to develop a plan to facilitate the full participation of such children in the ECCE programme. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has led responsibility for the implementation of this commitment and has concluded an intensive process of deliberation and consultation on the matter in conjunction with the Departments of Health and Education and Skills and has brought forward a new model of supports to facilitate the full participation of children with a disability in the ECCE programme. As part of budget 2016, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs announced the necessary funding to implement the new model of ECCE supports for children with a disability. The new model will provide supports including enhanced continuing professional development for early years practitioners, grants for equipment, appliances and minor alterations, and access to therapeutic intervention. Funding of €15 million has been provided to phase these supports in during 2016. Full-year costs for these supports are estimated at €33 million from 2017 onwards. Full details of the new model are due to be announced shortly. Improving access to therapy services for children in primary care and in disability services is a particular priority for the Government. Building on additional investment in recent years, funding of €8 million is being provided to the HSE in 2016 to expand, inter alia, the provision of speech and language therapy in primary care and the further development of early intervention therapy services under the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People programme to facilitate the inclusion of children with a disability in mainstream preschool settings as part of the roll-out of the new inclusive preschools model.

As the Deputy will be aware, the HSE has no statutory obligation to provide assistant supports for children with special needs wishing to avail of the free preschool year. However, it has worked at local level and in partnership with the relevant disability service providers to address individual needs as they arise. In some limited cases at local level, such as in Meath, HSE disability services have facilitated children with a disability to attend mainstream preschools by providing assistant supports where possible and where resources allow. The HSE's Meath disability service has a budget of €267,200 for its ad hocpreschool supports programme. Under the arrangements currently in place, children with disabilities are assessed, in the first instance, to identify their preschool support needs, and decisions about which children qualify for supports are made in the summer before the children start preschool in September. The amount of funding or subsidy allocated to each child is dependent on the total number of approved applications in a given year.

The HSE has advised that 129 applications for preschool assistant supports were received by its Meath disability services for the 2015-2016 preschool year, 100 of which were approved. Of the 29 unapproved applications, I understand that six were turned down on the basis of having been received past the deadline for submitting applications. The HSE has indicated that unfortunately, because the budget has been exhausted, it is not in a position to increase the value of the ad hocpreschool assistant support subsidy in Meath, or to cater for the late applications.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. One term stands out to me, namely "ad hoc." Up to now, much of this has been ad hoc- based on individual counties, HSE departments and disability services - and it has been up to the individual groups to provide the service as they saw fit. We have been very lucky in Meath that the HSE disability service has provided this funding. I know the Minister of State said some applications were not submitted in time, but we are talking about six children. A system has now been put in place and I thank the Minister and all the different Departments for this, as it has been a cross-departmental effort to put it in place. The additional funding has been secured and they really engaged with all the different groups. I know from working with Meath Fight for the Future that this group met with the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and many of their concerns have been taken on board. I am sure that has happened across the board.

I stress that we are talking about six children. It is not a lot of money. The funding is coming through the HSE and, while it is saying it cannot do this at a local level, I am asking at a national level whether this funding can be made available. Ten months is a long time in the life of a child and that is what we are talking about between now and next September. If the Minister of State could relay this to the Minister, I would appreciate it. We are talking about six children here. It is not a lot of money and it is not something that would be sought again next year. It is just for ten months.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I take on board what Deputy McEntee has said and of course I will bring this issue to the attention of the Minister. As was said, of 29 unapproved applications, six were turned down because the deadline had passed.

Unfortunately, the HSE, for which this is a matter, has also stated that the budget has been exhausted and, therefore, it is not in a position at this stage to consider late applications. The Meath disability service has a budget in excess of €250,000 but, as Deputy McEntee has requested, I certainly will convey her ongoing concern to the Minister.