Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Next, I call Deputy Wynne to discuss the ECCE scheme's cut-off point for disabled children who need AIM-model funding for equipment to access preschool safety. I ask her not to mention anybody's name.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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Yes. We have another name for the child that is not the actual name, if that is okay.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Yes.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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Lovely. Go raibh maith agat. I am incredibly grateful that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is here to take this question. It is of great local and personal importance to my constituents and to me. I had hoped the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, would take the question, but I was informed late yesterday evening that he was not in a position to do so. I will certainly not waste any time trying to figure that out.

The background to this case is that I visited the Kidz Haven Crèche in Shannon. I give a big shout out to the lovely children there and the fantastic staff who made me feel incredibly welcome. In particular, I thank the owner, Siobhán Mulderrig. She has been a childcare provider for the past 21 years and I believe she was the first-ever childcare provider in Shannon. I visited because of a little child whom we are calling Alex, who has cerebral palsy and complex needs and therefore needs specialised equipment to fully participate in the crèche with their peers. Alex is unable to sit unattended without a support seat and requires a specific room or Buddy walker to move and play. At two and a half years old, Alex was three months too young for the early childhood care and education scheme, which applies to children aged over two years and eight months.

As such, Alex gets no AIM support for essential equipment. Alex is just like any other two-and-a-half-year-old. They love to play with their friends, sing and take part in activities which are arranged around their needs, but Alex cannot even sit at the table and eat their snacks with the other children due to a lack of a suitable chair. They are using a tea towel wedged at the side of the current chair to make it as comfortable as possible. Alex can only walk around and play if their parents drag this cumbersome walker in with them every day at 8 a.m. This puts the chair at risk of being damaged not to mention how difficult that is for the parents on any given day. They are sharing a walker from Alex's home. Does the Minister of State think that is acceptable?

It is interesting to note there was an exemption for the upper age limit. I know this because my son, Travis, was able to avail of that exemption. However, there is no exemptions process for the lower age limit, which is what is needed in this case, and I am sure there are many others. I came into politics because my family was being affected by policy and I wanted to make a difference. I know we are not from the same political dominion but I am sure the Minister of State came into politics for similar reasons. That is what I hope to achieve here today: to make a difference for Alex and to ensure they are not left in this situation that neither of us would want to see our own children in.

In her role, the Minister of State would have an understanding and appreciation of the power of non-verbal communication, and that was in abundance at my visit. I could see very clearly that Alex wants to participate in that education setting. They are a very bright, wonderful and, if I can say, beautiful child. It was a heartbreaking experience to see the kind of struggles Alex faces daily, so I said I would bring this to the floor of the Chamber. I extended the invitation at the time to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and I know Siobhán would be more than happy to facilitate any such meeting in the future. It was disappointing that no one from the Minister's Department or even the party was able to be present on the day.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Wynne for raising this important issue and for offering the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, the opportunity to respond. I am taking the matter on his behalf.

A key objective for the Department is for all children to participate in ECCE, the free pre-school programme. The early childhood care and education scheme, ECCE, is a free universal two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age of two years and eight months to five years and six months. A child must have reached the age of two years and eight months prior to 31 August of the relevant programme year to be eligible. The ECCE programme provides children with a formal experience of early learning prior to commencing school. The ECCE entry age of two years and eight months is based on national experience, a review of international practice and regulations that apply to children of different ages in early learning and childcare.

The access inclusion model, AIM, was introduced in 2016 to ensure children with a disability can access and participate in ECCE programmes. AIM was designed and tailored to support ECCE-aged children and, as such, AIM is directly linked to ECCE participation. The model achieves this by providing universal supports to pre-school settings and targeted supports which focus on the needs of the individual child without requiring a diagnosis of disability. The Department of Education has learned from that model that children can access education without having that diagnosis.

Among other things, AIM can provide for advice and support equipment to children within the ECCE age range and can allow for additional educators to support children with a higher level of needs. Since its introduction in 2016, 32,000 children have availed of targeted supports along with many more children who have been identified through universal measures, ensuring the enhancement of inclusion in services generally. The Government has committed to extending AIM, but developmental work must take place to ensure supports are appropriate. This view is supported by an independent review of AIM involving more than 2,000 stakeholders, with findings that were overwhelmingly positive and which noted strong stakeholder support to extend AIM beyond the ECCE programme. The extension is progressing on a phased basis, so work is under way.

AIM was extended from 2024 to support ECCE-aged children to access and participate in early learning care outside of time spent in the ECCE programme, both in and out of term. The Department is also developing proposals to extend AIM to younger children. This extension will require a redesign of AIM to ensure it meets the different needs of pre-ECCE children and the needs of younger children through the annual budget process funding. Work in this regard is ongoing, and the Department will develop a policy that is reflective of developmental stages of children not yet in the ECCE programme and will ensure the policy is evidence-based and child-centred.

In response to the Deputy's question regarding why I got into politics, I was a manager of a childcare facility where I had an open door policy whereby children of varying needs could attend. It would not have been the norm everywhere that children with various disabilities could actively enter the front door. I also made my office available for the visiting nurse or visiting assessments. I have been clearly supportive of this issue since 2016 when the then Minister, Katherine Zappone, brought forward the AIM programme. Inclusion starts at the very beginning, no different from early intervention. Huge work is under way in the Department of children to look at the eligibility of children younger than two years and eight months to ensure we can capture equal access for all children.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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I appreciate that information and background. With that in mind, I hope the Minister of State will be able to help me help Alex. She has outlined all the Department is doing with the redesign, but Alex does not have time for that redesign to go through its process and then deliver for Alex. I do not want to see Alex spend one more day in this kind of situation. It is quite dangerous in respect of her eating situation and what has been put in place. The parents and Siobhán have done more than they can possibly do. They have gone above and beyond to ensure Alex is comfortable, but they really need the support of the Department. I appreciate there are processes, reviews and everything else and that they can take time, but Alex needs support now and I really hope an intervention can be put in place.

I read that the Minister of State's Department is receding the optional protocol of the UNCRPD. The Minister of State might provide clarification around that because my understanding is that could mean it would be ratified within 30 days. The Minister of State might come back to me on that. Article 24 of the UNCRPD places obligations on the Irish Government to ensure people with disabilities are not excluded from education on the basis of disability and can access education on an equal basis, as the Minister of State has alluded to. We need flexibility now on the lower age limit to ensure children with disabilities and additional needs are supported to the fullest, making Article 24 a reality. As far as I can see, we have a ludicrous criterion, especially in this case with Alex. It needs to be amended with the utmost urgency, and if that is possible, the Minister of State might be able to come back to me with a response. I believe a visit from the Minster would do justice to what Alex is experiencing daily.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, I must stick to the script. It is intended that, over time, all children with additional needs enrolled in early learning and care in school-aged children services will have access to supports under AIM. To this end, consideration is being given by officials in the Department of children to policy and mechanisms to extend AIM to under-threes as well an extension of AIM to school-aged children.

As noted in the opening statement, it is critical the response is evidence-based and reflective of the needs of children. This will require tailoring of AIM and differentiation of approaches. In addition, it is worth noting that an independent review of the ECCE programme has recently been completed. Among other issues, it examined the ratios of younger children participating in the ECCE programme and possible flexibility with ECCE age eligibility more broadly. The findings will inform potential changes to the programme in future. It is intended that the review will be published in the coming weeks. Deputy Wynne can be assured this matter is under active consideration and funding should be made available in future budgets.

In the allotted time I have, let me be as helpful as I can regarding Alex. Alex is under three and is not attending the ECCE programme but is attending services.

I have no doubt he is under either a primary care team or a CDNT. I assume he is under a primary care team. I ask the manager to reach out to the local primary care office where an OT might be able to duplicate the chair that is there already. Aids and appliances are what make life handier for families, but most importantly for that child. I have no doubt that as Alex grows, he will outgrow stuff, so there should be a recyclability programme within the HSE, so they should reach out to see if they can get the loan of a chair while he outgrows it. That would be my response.