Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020
45. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if support will be provided to an early years provider in Gortnahoe, County Tipperary, to facilitate a child with special educational needs (details supplied). [22363/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am happy to confirm that the provider in question has over the past 3 years availed of a number of supports under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which provides a range of supports to enable children with disabilities to access and participate fully in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.
In addition, I understand that there has been correspondence between the provider and officials in my Department with regard to a request for capital funding. I understand that my Department has informed the provider that under Level 5 of AIM, funding is available to provide specialised equipment, appliances or capital grants towards minor building alterations, where these are necessary to support access and to facilitate a child’s participation in pre-school. Where an application for minor building alterations is approved, a capital grant towards the cost of these alterations may be awarded to the pre-school provider, limited to a value of €7,000 inclusive of VAT.
In addition to this small-scale capital funding, other supports available under AIM include:
- expert advice and support from Early Years Specialists,
- therapeutic supports provided through the HSE where these are critical to a child's participation in the ECCE programme, and
- additional capitation to fund extra assistance in the ECCE pre-school room.
If the provider wishes to find out more about the range of supports available under AIM, or requires any further assistance with an AIM application, I recommend they either speak to their Early Years Specialist in Better Start or contact the Tipperary Childcare Committee.
