Special Educational Needs
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-06
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Pauline Tully (SF), Cultural and Educational Panel

The AIM programme is excellent for the preschool children. Something like that would need to be extended into the after-school provision as well. In the case of the manager I met, there is a crèche and preschool facility on-site and she is familiar with AIM. She said that is the sort of support you need for the after-school service. She wants to include the twins to whom I referred, for example. I am sure there are many other children who would love to be included in after-school provision. It would be beneficial for them, and, indeed, for other children as well.
However, the childcare providers feel it is a safety risk, especially if one of the children is a flight risk, for example, so there needs to be a number of staff who can keep an eye at all times on all the children in their care. There are 12 of them so it is very hard to watch them. If this could be rolled out soon, it would be welcome. The after-school childcare providers would welcome this. They want to be inclusive and at the moment they feel they cannot be.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-06/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-06