Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) operates in tandem with the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme and as such, provision of AIM supports are directly linked with ECCE participation/hours of operation. AIM’s objective is to support the meaningful participation of children with disabilities in ECCE.

ECCE is available to all children within the eligible age range. The minimum eligibility age of 2 years and 8 months for the ECCE programme was chosen based on national experience and a review of international practice. It also had regard to the regulatory environment for early years’ education and care in this country and issues such as child development readiness and adult-child ratios.

Children born between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021 will be eligible for their first year of ECCE in the 2024/2025 programme year.

I accept that the use of age limits in a scheme such as ECCE creates a situation whereby a child can fall just outside the age range, however, my Department has to place an age cut-off at some point, and in the interests of fairness and consistency there can be no discretion in this regard.

My Department does its best to ensure, in so far as possible, the equitable treatment of all children and families who apply for funding under the ECCE Programme and AIM. In order to ensure objectivity and fairness, it is essential that clear rules exist for the scheme and that they are applied evenly.

One of the commitments within First 5, A Government Strategy for Babies and Children, was to undertake an end of year 3 evaluation of AIM. The evaluation report is due to be published later this year. Subject to evaluation findings and other relevant developments, Department officials will be considering enhancements to, and/or extension of, AIM to, for example, outside of ECCE hours and age range.

The parents may be advised to contact their local County Childcare Committee (CCC) for advice on the on options and suitable placements. Contact details are available at myccc.ie.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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165. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will outline, where a preschool facility is currently being operated within a school and where his Department is seeking an ASD unit within the school that will result in the closure of the preschool facility, what supports or funding options may be available to the school to construct an additional space on the school grounds to maintain the preschool and to avoid its closure; the funding available to rural communities to build a childcare-preschool facility within their community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46895/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am aware of the challenges that can face an Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) service if they unexpectedly lose their premises and have an effective response in place to support such circumstances.

My Department oversees a case management process, through which local City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs) and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to ELC and SAC services experiencing difficulties. Under the direction of my Department, Pobal co-ordinate the overall case management process with the CCC administering on-the-ground case management assistance. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances. CCC and Pobal have previously engaged with services that were losing access to their current premises and provided assistance to identify alternatives.

Financial supports, which may also be accessed through the case management process, are available for community services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment by Pobal. This includes a strand that can support community services with the operational costs associated with a sudden need to move premises.

While both community (not-for-profit) and private (for-profit) services play a vital role in the sector in providing services in local communities, this financial support is currently available for the community sector. It is unfortunately not possible for my Department to provide direct financial assistance to private (for-profit) childcare services experiencing this particular circumstance at present.

There is however some €69 million allocated over the period 2023-2025 to the early learning and childcare sector under the revised National Development Plan (NDP). This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars:

1.Building Blocks - Improvement Grant;

2.Building Blocks - Capacity Grant; and

3.Building Blocks - Innovation Grant.

Under the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant, €9 million was allocated earlier this year in grants ranging from €35,000 to €75,000 for energy upgrades and retrofit projects, which supported services in need of upgrading, such as kitchen refurbishments, roof repairs and the replacement of flooring.

Work is currently underway on the design and delivery of Pillars 2 and 3, which have a combined allocation of €20 million in 2024 and €40 million in 2025.

The Building Blocks – Capacity Grant will fund an expansion of existing services in areas of undersupply. Funding will also be provided to support the development of new services, where most needed. The Building Blocks – Innovation Grant will pilot a range of innovative initiatives such as outdoor early learning and childcare services. I hope to be in a position to provide more information on the delivery of this Building Blocks – Capacity Grant in the coming weeks.