Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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75. To ask the Minister for Health further to a Dáil debate (details supplied) on 12 November 2015, if he will update Dáil Éireann on his ambitions to provide equal access to pre-school children with disabilities; his efforts to ensure that 15 children in County Meath will be able to avail of the free early childhood care and education scheme year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42501/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, is the responsibility of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. While certain flexibilities had been built into the ECCE Programme to facilitate the inclusion of children with a disability, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs was conscious for some time of the difficulty experienced by some children with a disability in accessing and benefitting fully from this Programme. With this in mind, he requested that an Inter-Departmental Group, led by his Department, be established with a brief to bring forward recommendations to address this issue. Representatives of my Department and the Health Service Executive participated on this Group.

The Group has concluded its work and its recommendations have been fully accepted by Government. As part of Budget 2016, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs announced the necessary funding to implement the new model of supports for children with a disability with costs for these supports estimated to be €15 million in 2016 and full year costs estimated to be €33 million from 2017 onwards.

The model of supports was launched on 18 November last by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs with my full support and the support of my Government colleague Jan O'Sullivan T.D., Minister for Education and Skills. I believe that this Group has identified a practical, workable model for meeting the needs of children with a disability and the allocation of funding is clear evidence of the Government's commitment to supporting such children. 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.

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 Disabilities Programme. It is anticipated that the development of early intervention services in particular, as part of the roll-out of the new inclusive pre-school supports model, will help children with a disability to access mainstream pre-school settings.

It should be noted that while the HSE has no statutory obligation to provide assistant supports for children with special needs wishing to participate in the ECCE Programme, it has, to date, worked at local level and in partnership with the relevant disability service providers to address individual needs as they arise. This has been done, for example, by funding special pre-schools that cater specifically for children with disabilities. In some limited cases at local level, disability services have also facilitated children with a disability to attend mainstream pre-schools by providing assistant supports where possible and where resources are available.

My Department has asked the HSE for a report on the specific matter raised by the Deputy pertaining to pre-school children in County Meath. I will be in further communication with the Deputy in due course.