724. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will make appropriate funding available for school-age childcare with additional needs, as currently there is funding available for preschool-age children through the AIM and AIM Plus programmes, subsidising up to 30-hours-per-week, but once a child transitions to primary school, this funding completely ceases, despite their care needs remaining the same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16258/26]

The Access and Inclusion Model or AIM is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities or additional needs can access the Early Childhood Care and Education or ECCE programme. The goal of AIM is to empower early learning and care providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early learning and care in any mainstream service participating in ECCE.

A core feature and strength of AIM is that it does not require a diagnosis. Instead, resources are allocated based on a child’s individual needs.

Officials in the Department will be engaging in a comprehensive policy development process during 2026 to extend AIM to children aged under three in future years, which will be underpinned by consultations with key stakeholders.

It is also intended to give consideration at a later date to an extension of AIM for children attending school-age childcare (SAC).

It is critical that both of these policy responses are strongly evidence-based and reflective of the needs of children. This requires tailoring of AIM and differentiation of approaches for each age cohort. Funding will also be required through the annual budget process.