Written answer
Early Childhood Care and Education
643. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the full and first year cost to increase funding to the access inclusion model by 50% and 100% to facilitate children who remain in an early years and childcare setting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25169/24]
Comment on this
The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) currently operates in tandem with the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme and as such, provision of AIM supports are currently linked with ECCE participation and hours of operation. Up until now, a key support - additional funding to providers to enable a lower adult-child ratio – was allocated for the duration of the ECCE programme only (i.e. 3 hours per day, 5 days per week and 38 weeks per year).
The Budget 2024 allocation for AIM is €57.4 million already includes €7m for an expansion of AIM from September 2024 to ECCE aged children, outside of the current ECCE hours and during non-term time. The full year cost of this development will be €21m.
The additional funding will support an extension of AIM support from September 2024, meaning that children with a disability enrolled in the ECCE programme will now be fully supported to access and participate in early learning and childcare settings beyond the time they spend in that programme – both in term and out of term. Providers will be funded for up to a further 15 hours of capitation per week in term and for 30 hours per week out of term to enable a lower adult-child ratio.
As funding to extend AIM is already in the 2024 budget, the increase is calculated on the pre expansion amount and applied on a full year basis to avoid duplication. On this basis a 50% increase in funding would cost an additional €25m and a 100% increase would cost an additional €50m.
It is important to note that not all services provide or can facilitate provision outside of ECCE hours, and that not all families availing of AIM supports would desire such provision.
It is intended that over time, all children with additional needs registered in ELC services will have access to supports under AIM. To this end, officials in this Department will also be considering enhancements to, and/or expansion of AIM to 0-3 year olds and then considering further extension to school aged childcare.