Kathleen Funchion
Question:709. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing by 15% funding for the access inclusion model. [18227/20]
View answerTuesday, 28 July 2020
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Written answers
The 2020 allocated budget for the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is €43 million.
This funding covers the cost of the seven levels of AIM, which encompass a range of both universal and targeted measures. The majority of this funding, €26 million, is for Level 7 Additional Assistance. This Level 7 funding is intended to facilitate either the recruitment of additional staff or to compensate services for a reduction in the adult-to-child ratio in the pre-school room, supporting the meaningful participation of all children in the room in the ECCE universal pre-school programme.
A 15% increase in funding for the overall Access and Inclusion Model would cost an additional €6.45 million per annum, bringing the total budget allocation to €49.45 million per annum.