I would like to extend a welcome to Aisling Dunne and her son Jack, on behalf of Deputy Ó Súilleabháin. They are very welcome to the Public Gallery, and I hope they enjoy their visit to Dáil Éireann.

Cuireann an scéim fhoráil Iúil tacaíocht ríthábhachtach samhraidh ar fáil do pháistí a bhfuil riachtanais bhreise acu. Níl na tacaíochtaí seo roghnach le haghaidh roinnt páistí; tá siad riachtanach. Go fóill ar fud an Stáit, tá an Rialtas ag insint le teaghlaigh go bhfuil na tacaíochta seo á gcailliúint acu. I mbliana, níor osclaíodh an tréimhse iarratais don scéim fhoráil Iúil ach ar feadh seachtain amháin. Sna blianta roimhe seo, bhí míonna ag na scoileanna leis an bpróiseas a chur i gcrích. Beidh páistí a bhfuil riachtanais bhreise acu fágtha ar leataobh anois gan na tacaíochtaí ríthábhachtacha seo don samhradh. Is iad na páistí féin a bheidh thíos leis.

The July provision scheme provides vital summer educational supports for children with additional needs, and for many children, these supports are not optional; they are absolutely essential. They provide structure, routine, stability and continuity during the summer months. Yet, right across the State, families are now being told their children are going to be denied and will lose out on these vital supports because of a deeply unfair and badly handled decision by the Department of education.

I have been contacted by principals, teachers and parents who are deeply distressed. They are all telling me the same thing; they are angry, upset and desperate to be heard. Parents are lying awake at night, worrying about what will happen to their child now. How can a Government, which constantly proclaims to include and support children with additional needs, allow this to happen? Schools and families have been pleading with the Department to intervene but their appeals are falling on deaf ears over and over again.

This year, the application window for the July provision was open for just one week. In previous years, schools had months to complete this process. Many schools simply did not have sufficient time to process applications, gather the paperwork and complete the registration before the portal was closed. The real life consequences of all this is that children with additional needs are now locked out of vital education support this summer. It is absolutely appalling.

However, it is not an isolated problem. This is happening to families right across the State. Parents are facing enormous battles accessing services for their children. As we know, they are already struggling to secure assessments, therapies, tutors and SNAs, and many feel they are constantly being pushed from one waiting list to another - from one bureaucratic process to another. Meanwhile, supports remain under-resourced and out of reach for many of them, and now we have this on top of all that, with more stress, worry and upset.

These are children with additional needs. We have to think about that for a minute. These are children with additional needs, and their families are already carrying a huge emotional and financial burden. These are parents who spend every day fighting for supports and services, simply to ensure their child is treated with dignity. Now, Government is effectively telling them their child will lose out on support that they so desperately need and have relied on year after year because of an unreasonably tight deadline, bureaucracy and red tape. Families do not understand it, teachers do not understand it and, for the life of me, I do not understand it. This is mean spirited and penny pinching. It is penny pinching at the expense of vulnerable children, and it is not on.

We have raised this again and again. Teachers have raised this and parents have been pleading with Government to act but it refuses to do so. Yesterday, my party Leader, Deputy McDonald, raised it with the Taoiseach and he ignored her question. Is the Tánaiste going to listen and do the right thing? Will he acknowledge the hurt, anxiety and anger at the decision Government has taken and will he listen to the pleas of the parents, teachers and principals? Will he immediately reopen and extend the application portal, so that no child with additional needs will be denied supports this summer? We need certainty right now.

Hear, hear.

Yes, we will. I thank Deputy Doherty and Deputies across the House, including on the Government benches, for raising this issue. We will reopen the portal. The Deputy is right; on occasions we can agree in this House. This is a vital programme that plays a very important part in the lives of children with additional needs, be they special educational needs or children from areas of economic disadvantage. The summer programme is a vital support for families. It is specifically designed to support children with complex educational needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage. We are very much committed to continuing to expand and grow the programme, and the facts will show this is exactly what has happened, which I will get to in a moment.

The Minister for education has very much listened directly to the concerns of schools, principals, teachers and parents. I am pleased to confirm the portal will be reopened to allow further schools to apply. The Minister will announce details of the extension shortly because everyone in this House knows the summer programme is an absolutely crucial support for families over the holiday period. It has huge benefits for children in their social and emotional well-being. We are absolutely committed, as I believe everybody across this House is, to growing and supporting that summer programme.

You only have to look at the numbers to show the growth in the programme. In 2020, 545 schools and nearly 23,000 children took part in the programme, and just five years later, last year, more than 1,800 schools and almost 71,000 children participated. That is a 210% increase. This is a scheme that is rightly growing year-on-year. The intention and continued emphasis of that programme is to mitigate the impact of learning loss, if you like, on those children while the school is closed. All schools can participate in the programme, with a particular focus on increasing participation in special schools.

As the Deputy correctly said, the online portal for the summer programme, including the home-based summer programme which is another element of it, was open from 6 to 15 May. I am told all stakeholders were made aware of the timeframe for the portal but I am also very aware that it is a particularly busy time for schools and the community. There is a lot going on as you get towards the end of the school year. A reminder was sent to schools but that is somewhat missing the point. The point is there is a need for a longer period of time for schools to apply to get this up and running.

For the information of the House, I also understand the Department has received more applications this year across primary, post-primary and special schools compared to last year. In addition, the number of home-based applications has also significantly increased on last year. Perhaps because of that, we want to make sure the children who need this programme get it. That is why my colleague, the Minister for education, will announce that short extension shortly, so that schools that have missed the deadline for very genuine reasons - and the Deputy has highlighted some of those reasons, such as it being a shorter window than previous years - will have the opportunity to reapply.

I welcome the decision to reopen the portal, and I ask that clarity be given to schools and parents immediately. The Tánaiste talked about a short extension but it needs to be long enough to deal with the process. As a result of the botched situation this year, there is now huge pressure to allocate tutors, so this cannot happen again.

I want to raise an additional issue relating to this year. My understanding is the scheme has also changed, in that there is now only one option, where all the pupils take either the school-based or home-based programme. That locks medically vulnerable children out of the system. If the school decides on a school-based programme, you cannot have a home-based programme for that medically vulnerable child. I spoke to a parent of a child who is 13 years of age and who has missed a lot of school because of their medical vulnerability. They have care every night from the HSE, which proves their medical vulnerability. As the portal only allows you to do one or the other, they cannot avail of the school-based programme.

They need a home-based programme. I ask the Tánaiste, in examining this issue, to also examine that issue and make sure that medically vulnerable students are not denied the option, which until now was always the case, to avail of either-or.

I do not want to mislead the House. On the last issue, I need to talk to the Minister for education and ask that she comes back to the Deputy, as I am sure she will. I take the seriousness of the point he makes. Schools will be contacted today because the Deputy is right that they need that clarity. My understanding is that, while the schools will be contacted today, the portal will open next week.

This is a programme that is growing very significantly in terms of the numbers of children. We all know in our own constituencies and in our own communities the very significant difference it is making to children as well. Looking back, in 2016, 8,767 children benefited from that scheme. Like I said, last year it was over 70,000. That is a sign of a programme that is working, and I thank all those around the country who provide this programme. It is also a sign, though, of the need, the fact that there are now so many children with those complex additional needs. I share the Deputy's view that this is not a discretionary extra or a nice-to-have but a vital part of education provision and family support.