Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is lovely to see Senator Flynn in the Chair. As we are approaching the recess, I wish her the very best of luck with her impending arrival in September.

I, too, welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to the House. When she was last here to address another Commencement matter I tabled on this issue, I was delighted. I noted at the time that July provision was to become summer provision and that the budget for summer provision had been increased. That is important. This provision is not a luxury for families who have a child with complex additional needs; it is a necessity. Many of us have heard the stories of the struggles of parents and their children who lost out so profoundly during the Covid lockdowns. There is no doubt that their development was very much hindered. Many children regressed in the home-schooling environment and their parents were at their wits' end trying to support them, but they were powerless to help. I welcome that besides special needs schools, DEIS schools were invited to participate in this programme.

We need to ensure that children who need this vital service can access it. We need to ensure that every child and family is supported and that those who lost out most during the lockdowns are now given the support they so desperately need. Having welcomed the announcement that July provision was moving to summer provision and that the funding was to increase from €20 million to €40 million, I was dismayed when a number of parents from south Kildare contacted me to say their school was not running a programme and they could not access places in any other school. I was disturbed to hear that the DEIS school and the two special schools in Kildare were not running programmes. I contacted each school and I received feedback from some schools, but not all. I have spoken to some principals in regard to this matter, but generally the take-up of the programme has been very low. This is disappointing. This is not about the funding that has been provided by the Department, but about the outcomes. It is about ensuring that every child has the opportunity to participate.

Last Friday, I was contacted by the group, Special Needs Schools and Classes, in relation to a survey it had conducted, which found that 60% of the schools their children attend do not offer any in-school programme for the summer. That is unacceptable. As a State, we have a duty to care and support the most vulnerable in our society. I note that only 26% of DEIS schools are running numeracy and literacy camps this summer. This is not right. We have more than 4,000 schools in the State, made up of 3,038 primary, 729 post-primary and 140 special schools. Every school that is eligible to participate should be running a programme.

I ask the Minister of State to detail the current state of play in counties Kildare and Laois as regards this year's summer provision programme and to outline the provision that will be made for those children who cannot access the service through their own school.