Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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448. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on the €7 million announced in Budget 2024 to support the increasing number of children with a disability requiring AIM supports to access and participate in the ECCE programme; how this money will be allocated to ECCE providers; when the money will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51117/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The award winning Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) has supported more than 27,000 children with a disability to access and meaningfully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme since it was first introduced in September 2016.

In Budget 2024, I was very pleased to secure an additional €14m for AIM. €7m of this allocation will support the increasing cohort of children with a disability requiring AIM supports to access and meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme. This will be on the basis of an application and assessment and will be demand led as is currently the case. The increase is required to meet the increasing demand for the AIM programme.

An additional €7m provides for an expansion of targeted AIM supports to these children beyond time spent in the ECCE programme, in term and out of term from next September.

The specific rules underpinning this extension are currently being developed. However, the intent of the additional funding is to support ECCE-enrolled children with a disability to remain in services for the full day if they wish to do so.

The precise allocation model for this expansion of AIM is currently under design and will be communicated in early 2024.

It is my ambition that, over time, all children with a disability who enrol in registered early learning and childcare services will have access to supports under AIM. To this end, my officials will next consider how many more children with a disability can benefit from AIM supports and will allocate supports based on application and assessment on a case by case basis.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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449. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will examine the practice of an organisation (details supplied) recouping monies under a circumstance from ECCE providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51118/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a universal free two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range.

As per the rules governing the ECCE programme, where attendance in the childcare setting differs from registration in a consistent pattern over a four-week period, the relevant registrations must be updated to reflect the actual pattern of attendance. The service provider will not have monies recouped for the first four-week period, but if the registration is not revised after the four-week period, then the service may have monies recouped for the days when the child is regularly not attending.

In certain special circumstances, such as a prolonged illness, a childcare service may apply to Pobal, who are the childcare funding schemes administrators, to retain the registration beyond four weeks up to a maximum of 12 weeks. In such cases, Pobal may seek supporting proof of the special circumstances, which may include medical certification.