Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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699. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if, in relation to policy underlining his Department's remit to develop policy in relation to mainstream pre-school and after-school care for children, any research or studies have been conducted to establish the effects of transferring children with special needs from ABA environments to mainstream non-ABA environments; if any policy guidelines have been developed to cover such transfers or if not, if guidelines are currently being developed; if he is aware of any desire among parents generally to retain State support for continuing ABA where it is shown to be beneficial; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26618/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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A number of support programmes are implemented by my Department to assist parents in accessing pre-school and after- school services. For example the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides one free pre-school year to qualifying children before they commence primary school. The ECCE programme is a free and universal programme to which all children have access.

To make the ECCE programme more accessible to children with special needs a number of additional provisions are in place. These include an exemption from the upper age limit for qualification under the programme where a child is developmentally delayed and would benefit from starting primary school at a later age. In addition, children with special needs can apply to have the pre-school year split over two years on a pro-rata basis, for example availing of the programme for 2 days a week in the first year and for 3 days a week in the second year.

My Department has been actively working with the Department of Health, specifically the Office of Disability and Mental Health, in the context of building better supports to facilitate the inclusion of special needs children in mainstream pre-school settings. However the issue of supports for children with special needs availing of services in mainstream childcare settings remains a matter for the Department of Health and the HSE and the specific issue outlined by the Deputy should be raised with the Minister for Health.