Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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256. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the budget allocation for better start early years specialists within his Department in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [38257/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Better Start, which is located within Pobal, was established in 2014 by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) in association with the Department of Education to co-ordinate the work of existing State-funded supports for quality in early learning and care settings.

The Better Start team of specialists work across three areas: the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the Quality Development Service (QDS), and a Learning and Development Unit.

Under AIM, Better Start Early Years Specialists work collaboratively with parents, pre-school providers, and with other professionals to support the development of inclusive learning environments in pre-school services. Better Start provides early learning and care practitioners across the country with timely access to advice and support from experts in early learning and care (and disability in particular) to assist them meet each child's needs. Better Start also provides coaching and mentoring to the pre-school staff on supporting children with disabilities to participate in the ECCE pre-school programme. 

Specialists in the Quality Development Service (QDS) work with early learning and care settings in a mentoring capacity to promote and develop the quality of practice, as set out in Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, and Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework.

The Better Start Learning and Development Unit co-ordinates the roll-out of a range of training options for early learning and care practitioners, to support them to deliver quality early learning and care experiences for all children.

The table below shows the total annual budget allocation for Better Start in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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257. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the level of annual funding given to the access and inclusion model between 2015 and 2020, by year. [38271/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which launched in June 2016, is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early learning and care.

AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, based on the needs of the child in the context of the pre-school setting they are attending, and therefore requiring no formal diagnosis. AIM is administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department.

The table below shows the annual allocated funding for AIM from when implementation began in mid-2016 up to 2020.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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258. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he can provide exact clarity in relation to the running of summer camps for children, both indoors and outdoors and summer classes for children, both indoors and outdoors (details supplied); if they are allowed to be run; the State body providing advice on this for parents and guardians and those running the classes and camps; the State body that is assigned to monitor compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38357/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that I am not in a position to comment on these matters which are more appropriate for the attention of my Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Health.