Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2024

I wish to raise the issue of the withdrawal of funding for TII schemes. A number of national road schemes throughout the country have been impacted this year by very substantial funding uncertainty. Schemes such as the N72 in my own constituency, along with schemes in other parts of Cork, such as the N71 in Bantry, and others in counties Tipperary, Wexford, Roscommon and Longford have been prevented from being progressed because the funding was not available as of August 2024. To update the House, of the projects that are supposed to be done under pavement schemes by TII's programme in 2024, 46 projects, representing 66% of the annual workload of TII, had not yet gone to tender as of the end of August. Frankly, this is very bad management by the Department of Transport, which is allowing TII to come forward with an annual budget that is not funded.

TII is a very good organisation. It has a great track record of delivering national road projects on budget and on time. Examples are Dunkettle, the N22 scheme in Cork and the Baile Bhuirne-Macroom bypass. These projects were delivered on time and on budget. I think the Baile Bhuirne-Macroom scheme actually came in ahead of schedule. As an organisation, TII is definitely doing its job properly. It has shown time and again in recent years that it is very adept at what it does. It is unacceptable to me, as the Fianna Fáil Party spokesperson on transport and a TD representing the constituency of Cork East, that this situation is allowed to persist as a result of what I believe is greenwashing of the Department of Transport's budget through the withdrawal of funds that should be allocated to national road projects, be they maintenance or new road capital projects, and the reallocation of those funds to mobility projects. We know that €1 million per day is being spent on cycling and walking, which is great, but my issue is that projects in my constituency that were planned and decided on to be done in February of this year have not been done because the funding is not there.

This creates an enormous political issue, as one would expect, and it is not acceptable to me as a Government politician. I also want to make the point that when it comes to other major schemes we have seen the hold-up of the national road projects, including the Cork-Limerick motorway. It is a long way behind schedule. That should definitely be given the accelerator pedal in the Department of Transport. I am concerned about the lack of progress on the Fermoy main street resurfacing. This was one of the projects that was held up. We have heard announcements recently that it will be sorted out in this calendar year. I reiterate the need for that to happen.

There are two major schemes in the south section of the constituency, the first of these being the N25 Midleton to Carrigtwohill scheme. Both Deputy Stanton, who is seated beside me, and I have pointed to the need for this project to be done. The second is the Castlemartyr and Killeagh bypasses or what is now referred to by TII as the Midleton to Youghal scheme. These projects all need capital funding in order to be progressed.

I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is here today to take the question. Why is the Minister for Transport not funding the projects? It has to be done. Unless funding is provided, these projects cannot progress.

There is more to this than infrastructure. It is also about safety on our roads and removing some of the most dangerous sections of roads in the country. Very sadly, there have been a number of very dangerous car accidents on the N25, including a multitude of fatalities. As a TD for that constituency, I feel an obligation to express the need for these schemes to be progressed. The N73 and N72 in north Cork are just as dangerous and are also in need of funding. I ask that this issue be looked into and a solution found.

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan. He has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding for the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design and improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the relevant local authorities. TII delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP.

The Government has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national road projects from 2021 to 2030, as part of the NDP. This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country as well as compact growth, which are key national strategic objectives. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects which are already at construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of a number of others.

As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, this has meant that there is constraint on funding available for new projects in the period to 2025. However, approximately €412 million of Exchequer funding capital was provided to the national roads programme through TII to local authorities in 2024. While there has been no reduction in the overall capital funding available for national roads in 2024 since the allocations were announced, a number of new road projects are facing funding pressures in 2024. This is due to a number of reasons, including the increased pace of delivery, land acquisition costs, inflation and increased costs for materials, which are more expensive than when the estimates were originally calculated.

The major new road projects which face funding pressures include the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge project, which is under construction, and the M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy and Limerick to Foynes, including the Adare bypass, projects, which are approaching the construction phase. A number of projects at an earlier stage in the development cycle are also affected. In order to ensure the continued delivery of these important projects, TII proposed earlier this year to postpone some asset renewal works on the existing network until 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. This is particularly the case where existing contracts are in place. In addition, some greenway funding will be used to advance active travel infrastructure on the national road network, which would otherwise be funded from the roads budget. This will allow funding to be directed to new roads projects. These important projects are in line with the commitment of the Government to invest in new roads infrastructure to ensure all parts of Ireland are connected to one other. They will also assist in removing traffic from our towns and villages, creating more liveable communities.

It is important to note that the postponement of temporary and safety improvement schemes will not be affected by these measures. In fact, the Minister is pleased to advise the House that TII has recently identified funding for a small number of these paused pavement improvement schemes, which were identified as being in particular need of intervention.

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I acknowledge that within it there was reference to moneys spent. What I want to discuss, however, is money that has been allocated for expenditure in this calendar year but is not being spent.

Normally, Transport Infrastructure Ireland's budget is agreed by its board, in consultation with the Department of Transport, generally in the second week of December. That was the case before this Government came to power and before we had a Green Party Minister in the Department of Transport. Since the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, took office, however, we have seen this decision delayed as much as halfway into the month of February and a State agency signing off on the annual transport budget seven or eight weeks into the new year. It is farcical and people know it. Those who work in this industry also know it is the case. It gives an indication that there are very serious issues with the allocations that are being signed off.

What annoys me as a TD - it gets under my skin, frankly - is that this State agency is approving a budget for expenditure in a calendar year that is subsequently not funded. Talk about a pie in the face for any Government TD in a constituency later in the year where TII has to say that, actually, it does not have the money to fund these projects because it is not getting the support from the Department of Transport. I question the level of engagement between the Departments of transport and public expenditure around their needs. That is coming from a policy perspective from the Minister at the head of the Department of Transport. This has to be addressed.

Ultimately, towns like Fermoy and other areas in constituencies like my own, as well as national road schemes that people depend on to get to and from their daily place of work, will ultimately suffer. Some very significant safety improvement schemes have not progressed. As I said to the House, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, 66% of the schemes had not been tendered as of August. That is completely and utterly unacceptable.

Over the past 25 years, the Government of Ireland has invested heavily in our national roads network, with an extensive motorway system now in place. The motorway network has seen almost tenfold expansion since 2000. Due to the outlined funding constraints for national roads, a prioritisation exercise was necessary from the outset. In line with the NDP and Government policy, the Minister for Transport allocated national road funding for 2023 in a manner which sought to achieve the following key outcomes: protection or renewal of existing national road network; progressing major projects in or near construction; progressing major projects which are pre-construction but well advanced in the development pipeline; and prioritising any remaining funds for major projects which provide for local bypasses and compact growth in Ireland's towns and villages. The Department of Transport and TII engage on a regular basis on the national roads programme and the Department is committed to the continued maintenance and renewal of the existing road network.

The programme for Government commits to full protection of essential road and public transport maintenance and upkeep budgets to ensure continued public safety and connectivity. It also commits to continued investment in new roads infrastructure to ensure that all parts of Ireland are connected to one other. In support of this, approximately €412 million of Exchequer capital funding was allocated to the national roads for both protection and renewal and new roads in 2024. This has resulted in many improvements to the network, as demonstrated by the Dunkettle interchange project which was opened this year.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this question. I realise she is not the Minister of State responsible for this area but, in fairness, she is well aware of the issues we are dealing with when we are specifically talking about kids with disabilities and kids with autism. We know there are huge synergies with her own work and, obviously, the piece of work that needs to be done in respect of schools. I wish to put on the record the response received to a parliamentary question tabled specifically on the matter of provision. It stated that for the 2024-25 school year the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, had sanctioned 18 new special classes to open for September 2024 in County Louth. Of these classes, 14 were at primary level and four at post-primary level. This brings the number of special classes in the county to 101. The majority of these classes are autism classes. I assume the Minister of State will have the information in that regard and be able to tell me whether the new special classes have been delivered.

I recently met with All Abilities Action Alliance Louth. I met some of its members previously in the context of my involvement with the Louth Disability Cycling Club. As the Minister of State is well aware, that club has a huge connection with Kevin O'Brien and Variety. It is one of those really positive initiatives. Families can show up, kids get a service that is enjoyable and it allows families to meet and gather that information. As has often been said, you do not always have that one-stop shop we would all like to see. They can learn from one other.

The members of All Abilities Action Alliance Louth provided me with information. In fairness, this is the way they find it. There are 18 secondary schools in Louth, including two grammar schools, but only nine of these have special needs classes. Put another way, 50% of secondary schools in Louth have no special needs classes at all. I know there are particular issues in respect of schools. Ó Fiaich College, which my own autistic son, Turlough, attends, does not have an autism unit. It has plans but it is constrained by space. I accept that there are particular issues, but we all know we are talking about parents who are under severe pressure.

Reference has been made to Louth having 72 special needs classes, which would cater for 432 children with special needs. Of the nine schools that have special classes, however, one school has four special needs classes, four have three special needs classes, one has two special needs classes and three have only one special needs class. That gives us a total of 21 classes. This is 29% of the target the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, has spoken about. When admission notices from the schools with these 21 classes are examined, the following are the number of places for 2025: two schools have six places each; one school has four places; one school has three places; two schools have two places each; one school has one place, which is for girls only; and two schools have zero places. The Minister of State can see the issue. We know what happens as a result - parents apply all over the place and for everything. The system is still not great.

I have spoken previously about the Education (Amendment) Bill 2024, which I brought froward. It would allow for parents of kids with autism and other disabilities to apply two years beforehand, which would enable schools to ensure they have all the i's dotted and t's crossed and make sure all the services are ready. There is a significant number of issues here and a huge number of parents are under severe pressure. What can be done? I will deal with the school inclusion model in my supplementary question.

As the Deputy has acknowledged, I am taking this on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. I stress that enabling students with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is an absolute priority for the Minister and this Government. It is the Government's priority to ensure all children have an appropriate school placement and the necessary supports are provided to our schools to allow children with special educational needs to flourish and prosper. It is important to highlight that the majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. For children with more complex needs, special classes are provided. For children with the most complex needs, special school places are also provided.

The need for special education is at an all-time high and over a quarter of the education budget is allocated to special education, providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. This has increased under budget 2025, with almost €2.9 billion allocated, which represents an increase of 6%, or €159 million, on last year’s funding. This funding will deliver up to 2,700 new special educational places, an additional 768 teachers and 1,600 special needs assistants. This will mean we will have more than 44,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

Since 2020, almost 1,700 new special classes have been provided, bringing the total to more than 3,300. Over the same period, 11 new special schools have been opened. Four of these new special schools opened last month in counties Meath, Kildare, Wexford and Limerick. More than 400 new special classes have been sanctioned for this school year, with classes provided in every county. Of the new special classes sanctioned for the 2024-25 school year, 16 are in County Louth, with 13 at primary level and three at post-primary level.

This brings the total number of special classes in Louth to 98 - 75 at primary and 23 at post-primary level. The vast majority of these classes are autism classes and have a teacher-student ratio of 1:6.

Statutory responsibility for the provision of additional special education provision lies with the NCSE. The NCSE has progressed the recruitment of additional special education needs organisers, SENOs, team managers and advisers. The number of SENOs increased from 65 to 120 at the start of this school year. The additional staffing will ensure that parents and schools experience an increased level of support and guidance from the NCSE. The NCSE is undertaking some 800 school planning visits in September and October of this school year. These meetings will be key to determining which schools should open new special classes for the next school year 2025-26. The NCSE is particularly focusing on medium to Iarger primary schools which do not yet have a special class, and post-primary schools, to open new special classes. The NCSE will also reach out to families to help and guide them through the range of supports available to meet the needs of their children. It is important for planning purposes that parents engage with the NCSE when seeking special educational placement for their children. The contact details of local special educational needs organisers are available through schools and on the NCSE’s website. That is a valuable point. I am sure the Deputy is aware that we need the NCSE to help carry the burden for the parents as opposed to them applying to a number of schools. The Department of Education and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements will be available for all children who require such a placement.

It seems that those numbers have dropped off from an earlier parliamentary question I asked. We are now talking about 98, which is the figure the group I met were spoken to about, whereas there was a plan for 101. Three classes have now dropped off. I would like to think everything will be done to make sure that is delivered because we are dealing with a lack of provision. I think the Minister of State said it as well in relation to the NCSE and SENOs. I am aware of people doing a huge level of work but we also know that for families this is incredibly stressful. Nobody knows if they will actually get a place. I am also aware of an issue in the last while - a huge amount of people spoke about their kid being autistic with an intellectual disability and they are looking at a number of schools. In some special schools, they fall below the criteria and in others they do not have sufficient difficulties to fall into that school. It adds to problems. I got a call last night about it before I came into the Chamber. The people who spoke to me said there are 24 individual places for the whole county. It is nowhere near the necessary target capacity. There are 75 special needs classes at primary level and 23 and secondary level. It is expected that demand will exceed the current supply of 24 places in 21 classes. That states exactly what the situation is. There is not enough capacity. We must make sure that is delivered.

I will bring back the name of Shelagh National School to the Minister of State. The Deputy is a very strong advocate in this space. With the recruitment of the extra NCSEs - doubling numbers - I have no doubt there is provision for a new NCSE to look after the wee county of Louth to ensure there is proper capacity building in primary and post-primary. When you look at the numbers going from national to secondary school, you need to ensure capacity building is taking place. The Department of Education continues to engage intensely with the NCSE in relation to forward planning for new special classes for the 2025-26 school year and future years to ensure every child has a place in an educational setting best fitting their educational need. There are now more than 28,000 children being supported in special schools and classes, with the number of special classes increasing by 100% since the 2019-20 school year.

It is the statutory responsibility of the NCSE to work with schools to provide sufficient special education provision in each class year. Both the NCSE and the Department have held a number of meetings with education stakeholders in relation to the forward planning of special classes and special school places for the 2025-26 school year. As already outlined, budget 2025 provides funding for another 400 new special classes and 300 additional special school places for the school year 2025-26.

It is important to acknowledge the organisation the Deputy met and the wonderful work Louth Cycling Club does and how it is has embraced the trikes from the Variety group. It is brilliant to see on a Saturday morning children with various needs can participate with their peers on an equal basis. That club demonstrates real inclusion and equity for all.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this Topical Issue and thank the Minister of State for being here this morning. She is working overtime and should get an increase in wages, she is doing so many Topical Issues for everybody else. I also acknowledge Deputy O'Connor. Both of us are Government TDs from the same constituency and raise the same issue. I do not know if anybody takes any notice out there any more in Government Departments of what happens in this Chamber. In any event, I will have probably my final go at this particular issue. I have raised it many times.

The N25 between Carrigtwohill and Youghal is probably one of the busiest roads in the country. It carries about 30,000 cars, vehicles, lorries, trucks and motorcycles per day. There are a number of sections. Concerning the section from Carrigtwohill to Midleton, in around 2020 there were plans between TII and Cork County Council to upgrade it, in other words, to build a whole new section there. It is way below standard at the moment. For some reason, when Deputy Ryan came in as Minister for Transport, he stopped the funding even though millions had already been spent on it. It is a very dangerous road. I am worried about the safety issue more than anything else. I do not want to stand here or see in newspapers in the near future situations where the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, had told me this was a grand, safe road and that we have no money yet people have been killed on it. That will not be good enough. My worry, which I know Deputy O'Connor also has, is that there are grade junctions, median crossing points and direct access points on this road. One can imagine traffic going at 100 km/h, two lanes of traffic bumper to bumper and people trying to get on it; they cannot. They cross the dual carriageway there as well. There is also the Amgen site which has been there for decades - an IDA industrial site which cannot be used because the road infrastructure is not up to standard. Thankfully, we are building thousands of houses in the area which is great for house-building but will increase traffic volumes enormously. The road is already at capacity. The section between Carrigtwohill and Midleton was stopped, the money was not made available and the local authority and TII were upset and concerned about it. My worry now is that even though a lot of work has been done, public consultation and so on, they will have to go back and do all of this again if it gets the go ahead in future.

Then, there is the Lakeview roundabout which is beyond capacity. I use it quite often. Every time I am on it, my heart is in my mouth. You play chicken trying to get onto it especially at peak times in the evening. It is exceptionally dangerous now moving into darker and wet evenings. I worry there will be a major collision there and loss of life. I have raised this time and again and have been told, as I am sure Deputy O'Connor has, that there will be safety measures put in place on that section of road from Carrigtwohill to Midleton. Nothing has happened; not a bob spent on it. The Lakeview roundabout is exceptionally dangerous. It is one of the busiest in the country and will get even more busy because more houses are being built in the area, increasing traffic congestion, risk and danger. Further east is Castlemartyr. Every morning, if you listen to the traffic reports on the radio, you hear about the traffic building up from the east into Castlemartyr. It is the same in the evening. There are several kilometres of traffic congestion on both sides morning and evening at peak times. It is very frustrating for people. Ironically, the pollution it causes is just crazy.

The quality of life for people living in Castlemartyr and in Killeagh further down has disimproved enormously because of this situation.

Deputy O'Connor has mentioned Burgess previously, and he has done a lot of work on this issue, as have I. It is between Killeagh and Castlemartyr. We have had several serious accidents there and again we have been promised safety measures and road improvements, but nothing has happened. Not one thing has happened. I do not know if people are asleep at the wheel in TII. The Minister has certainly pulled the funding for all this work. My major concern, however, is safety and ensuring people can get from A to B and to their places of work safely and much easier. The whole pollution aspect has gone way up as well with traffic sitting there, belching out diesel and petrol fumes.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TIl, in conjunction with the local authorities. I am sorry if this may be frustrating the Deputy because I feel I am reading out the same answer again. The national roads programme is ultimately delivered by TII in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP.

The Government has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP. I have taken notes regarding what the Deputy said about 30,000 people using that road daily. This funding provided will enable improved regional accessibility as well as compact growth, which are key national strategic outcomes. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects already at construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of a number of others.

As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, this has meant that there is a constraint on the funding available for new projects in 2024. However, approximately €411 million of Exchequer capital funds were provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2024. The N25 Carrigtwohill to Midleton project is one of several national road projects in Cork that are included in the NDP. Others include the recently completed upgrade to the Dunkettle interchange and the N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom project, which was completed last year. In 2024, almost €56 million in Exchequer funding was allocated to Cork County Council through TII. This money will be used to fund a number of new road projects, including the M28 between Cork and Ringaskiddy and the N25 Castlemartyr and Killeagh bypass. Funding is also provided for the protection and renewal of the national road network in the county.

Regarding the current status of the N25 Carrigtwohill to Midleton project, technical advisers have completed their assessment of the route options and have determined the preferred solution. Improvements to crossings over this very busy section of the N25 to enhance active travel are being considered as part of the scheme. The project did not receive funding in 2024, but as with all national road projects in the NDP, the delivery programme of these projects will be kept under review for 2025 and considered in terms of the overall funding envelope available to TII. The project remains a part of the NDP. However, TII has allocated funding to Cork County Council to identify measures with the potential to address specific safety issues between Carrigtwohill and Lake View Roundabout at Midleton. The Cork national roads office has undertaken significant desktop work on identifying options in this regard and undertaken discussions on this matter with affected stakeholders with the intention of applying for planning permission during 2025.

With regard to the N25 east of Midleton, TII is funding Cork County Council's development of a major project, the N25 Midleton to Youghal scheme. This scheme would deliver a bypass of Castlemartyr to Killeagh, locations that suffer from significant levels of congestion. Works to date have focused on the identification of constraints within the study area and high-level options that are feasible to deliver the project's objectives. These include accommodating strategic traffic and removing traffic from the Castlemartyr to Killeagh road as well as improving safety. In 2024, €450,000 has been allocated for the progression of the scheme. I take on board, however, what the Deputy said and his priority being safety.

I thank the Minister of State for her response. Again, as she commented, this response is a cut-and-paste of what I have heard many times. I am sure my colleague here has heard it many times too. What is interesting here are the safety measures on the N25 between Carrigtwohill and Midleton, which is an extraordinarily dangerous and busy section of road. There is an intention to apply for planning permission in this regard during 2025. That could be in December 2025 and we might not see any works happening until 2026 or 2027. In the meantime, the €2 million already spent on that project has been wasted because the major upgrade that TII and the county council had worked so hard on was stalled and not allowed to proceed. Yet work is going ahead now on what we might call this Band-Aid type of effort, which will again take a lot of time, with more planning permission required, etc, instead of carrying on with the major scheme. I again wish to emphasise the safety of people. Lake View Roundabout is extraordinarily dangerous. Traffic lights should perhaps be put on it at this stage as an interim measure to make it safer. I know it would slow traffic down even further, but this roundabout is exceptionally dangerous.

Moving further east into Castlemartyr, as I said, the congestion there is mind-blowing. There are kilometres of traffic on both sides of the road there at certain times during the day. We then go on to Burgess further on, which again is exceptionally dangerous. There have been many accidents there.

Somehow or other, when we speak in this House about things like this, we get cut-and-paste answers. The Ministers are not available. I respect the Minister of State who has come here. She is working exceptionally hard. This is something that is happening a lot. We do not have Ministers here, but this House should take precedence. When I was a Minister of State, I always made sure I was in here answering questions put to the Department of Justice. It is not happening anymore. This is no slight on the Minister of State who is here now. This House should be number one and everything else should be numbers two, three and four. This is the national Parliament after all at the end of the day and it is being treated abysmally by some of the Ministers who hardly turn up at all. They send in a Minister of State to read a script that is a cut-and-paste of stuff we have heard many times previously. I am on about safety and saving lives this morning, however, and this is the message I wish to bring forward to the Minister and anyone else who might be listening.

I thank the Deputy. I take on board totally what he just said and I will relay it back. This is about safety and saving lives. Yet again, though, I must read another such reply. I must read everything I am given because I am deputising.

Approximately €411 million of Exchequer capital funds was provided to TII for national roads in 2024. In line with the NDP and Government policy, TII seeks to allocate national roads funding to local authorities in a manner that seeks to achieve the following key outcomes: the protection and renewal of the existing national road network, progressing major projects that are in or near construction, progressing major projects that are pre-construction but well advanced in the development pipeline, and prioritising any remaining funds for major projects that provide for local bypasses and compact growth in our towns and villages. The N25 Carrigtwohill to Midleton project will be considered for funding in future years.

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.

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.

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 Minister would do justice to what Alex is experiencing daily.

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.