Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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305. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if children with an ASD diagnosis can be refused access to pre-schools due to their diagnosis; to outline if children have a right to pre-school education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38518/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Ensuring access to early learning and childcare for all children, is a key priority for me as Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. A number of Programmes within my Department contribute to this objective.

Firstly, the ECCE Programme offers quality early learning and care without charge to the parents of all children within the eligible age range of 2 years and 8 months and 5 years and 6 months. The Programme enjoys a 96% uptake amongst the eligible cohort.

The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with additional needs can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Its goal is to empower early learning and care 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 in any mainstream service participating in ECCE. Access to AIM is based on the needs of the individual child, in the context of the pre-school setting and does not require a diagnosis.

AIM provides a suite of universal and targeted supports across 7 levels. Measures include staff training, equipment, therapeutic supports and the facilitation of a lower ratio of children to staff in pre-school rooms or funding for an extra staff member as a shared resource, where a child with additional needs is present.

Introductory Guidelines to support the meaningful inclusion of autistic children in early learning, and care and school-age childcare and childminding settings were published by my Department in 2024. These guidelines are part of the AIM suite of supports and resources supporting the inclusion of children in the ECCE programme and beyond.

Services should ensure equal access for all children and should not undertake any action that could adversely affect the ability of any child to access and meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme.

Parents encountering difficulties in securing a place for their child should contact their local City or County Childcare Committee for advice and support. The Department will continue to support and encourage services to ensure their services are open and inclusive.

I also note that my Department has committed to improving accessibility of early learning and childcare through the Equal Start Model. Equal Start commits my Department to:

- Review the guidance on inclusion policies to ensure there is adequate support and recognition for priority target groups.

- Provide guidance on admissions policies, and explore the possible introduction of regulatory requirements for ELC and SAC services to have an inclusive admissions policy.

- As part of the introduction of comprehensive regulations for SAC services, introduce a regulatory requirement for SAC services to have an inclusion policy.

- Give consideration to extending to ELC and SAC services the duties arising under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014.