Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I wish to add to the comments made by Senator O'Meara with regard to quality of life for people with disabilities by referring in particular to the issue of pre-school children with disabilities. Next Tuesday, I will make available my updated report, A New Approach to Childcare, November 2006, in which I discuss care for children and babies with special needs. When a child is known to have a disability, it is essential that he or she receives all the help required to reach his or her full potential. Unfortunately, some parents of children with special needs face particular difficulties in securing adequate child care. In some cases, the degree of expertise and level of care required means that one-to-one care is the only viable option. In the majority of cases, however, there is scope for the provision of care for children with special needs within the formal child care sector.

In 2004, the Dublin city based Childcare Focus Group published a report, Accessible Childcare for All, which identified and promoted solutions designed to ensure equality of access and opportunity in child care provision for children with additional learning, sensory, physical and emotional needs. The report, which was funded by the National Disability Authority, focused its research on areas in north-west Dublin and found that 70% of child care providers looked after one or two children with special needs. The most commonly diagnosed special needs were speech and language at 76%, and emotional behaviour at 64%. Other additional needs included autistic spectrum, developmental delay, physical and ambulatory, Down's syndrome and learning disabilities. More than two thirds of child care providers stated they never turned away children on the basis of additional needs. In almost every case of providers turning away children, the decision to do so was made because the child's needs were beyond the ability of the facility or its staff to cater for them. In one case, the facility was not wheelchair accessible. However, responses from parents did not paint as positive a picture.

The report set out 14 key recommendations to the Government and child care providers which, if implemented, would radically improve the supports available to children with special needs. It recommended that the Department of Health and Children should provide for an increase in the number of occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, speech and language therapists, public health nurses and other personnel involved in the diagnosis, treatment and support of children with special needs.

The report also recommended that concessions should be made to the extra cost of early years services for children with special needs. For example, a community or private crèche should be eligible for a grant for special needs assistants in early childhood education. Localised special needs training already in place should be built upon and new initiatives introduced. Current links between disability and child care stakeholders should be strengthened. The findings of the report represent an excellent starting point for Government policy on child care for children with special needs.

The document I will give the Minister of State next week contains 16 recommendations on child care. Building on what the Government did in last year's budget, I am analysing what was done and I am making new proposals. I am trying to get the needs of pre-school children with disabilities on the agenda. We need to talk about the issue and address it. The primary aim of my recommendation is to ensure equality of access to and opportunity for child care provision for children with learning sensory physical and emotional needs. This approach is similar to what is now the policy in national schools. Specific additional funding should be made available to child care providers to achieve this aim, for example, grants towards the employment of special needs assistants. At the heart of my document is that every child born here should have an equal chance to develop his or her potential.