Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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596. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a breakdown of current spend and capital spend for the Access and Inclusion Model in tabular form; the proportion that is current spend; if he will provide a breakdown of the allocation that is capital spend given that the programme is allocated €45.55m in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39019/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The 2022 allocated budget for the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is €45.55 million. This funding covers the cost of the seven levels of AIM, which encompass a range of both universal and targeted supports for pre-school settings. AIM Capital spend to date is €266,960.

Under targeted supports, a pre-school provider, in conjunction with a parent, and a health professional working for or on behalf of the HSE, can apply for equipment, appliances and/or a capital grant towards the cost of minor alterations to the pre-school setting where it is deemed necessary and critical to enable the meaningful participation of the child in the ECCE programme. This could include a hoist, hearing aid or wheelchair ramp to name a few examples.

Other AIM supports include funding to either recruit additional assistance or to compensate services for a reduction in the adult-to-child ratio in the pre-school room. AIM also provides access to therapeutic services where they are critical to enable a child to be enrolled and to meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme, and access to expert early year’s educational advice and support from a team of dedicated Early Years Specialists. AIM supports the continued development of a qualified and confident workforce through the provision of ongoing training courses such as Hanen and SPEL and provision of funding for training under the Leadership for Inclusion (LINC) training programme and employment of Inclusion Co-Ordinator (INCO) positions in ECCE sessions.