Written Answers Nos. 232-236
232. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality which early education centres are receiving funding in the State; and the total number of children attending at that level; and how many of these centres are providing the service in full Irish and what number of children are involved and can the issue be discussed. [17748/26]
View answerEach year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile. The most recent published data for the 2024/25 programme year indicates that at the time of the survey, May-June 2025, there were 3,901 ELC services with an active contract for a Department funded scheme.
The most recent published capacity data for the 2024/25 programme year estimated that there were 157,092 children enrolled in ELC services nationally.
The Department does not currently hold a directory of naíonraí or Irish-medium settings or a directory of children enrolled in Irish-medium settings. The Annual Early Years Sector Profile collates information about use of the Irish language in services, categorised by whether services are:
wholly Irish-medium settings;
mixed settings where part of the setting is English-medium and part of the setting is Irish-medium;
English-medium settings with some use of Irish;
and wholly English-medium settings.
The most recently published data on use of the Irish language in services for the 2024/25 programme year indicated that, of the ELC services for which data was available, 4% of services were reported to be wholly Irish-medium and 3% of services were reported to be mixed settings where part of the service is Irish-medium.
233. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether there is a reimbursement scheme for children who receive an autism assessment privately due to lengthy waits in the public system. [17861/26]
View answerAs this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
234. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality where a parent can seek home help support for a person with disabilities under 18 years-of-age. [17872/26]
View answerThe HSE provides a range of assisted living services including home support services to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives. Home support services are provided to both children and adults with a wide range of disabilities from physical and sensory disabilities to intellectual disabilities and autism. The home support service assists the person with everyday tasks to enable them to live at home or with family. It is, therefore, also an important support to families and carers.
As the Deputy may be aware, Paediatric Home Care Packages (PHCPs) are intensive nurse-led packages of care for children complex medical and nursing needs. Children with Complex Healthcare Needs (CCHN) are children who have substantial healthcare needs because of one or more congenital, acquired or chronic conditions and who have functional limitations that often require the assistance of medical technology and ongoing nursing care at home to support their parents to care for them. The PHCP service is not the same as home support. It is funded through HSE Primary Care and, as such, falls within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Health.
As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
235. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality where a parent can seek home help support for a person with disabilities over 18 years-of-age. [17873/26]
View answerThe HSE provides a range of assisted living services including home support services to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives. Home support services are provided to both children and adults with a wide range of disabilities from physical and sensory disabilities to intellectual disabilities and autism. The home support service assists the person with everyday tasks to enable them to live at home or with family. It is, therefore, also an important support to families and carers.
As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
236. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality where a parent can seek respite support for a person over 18 years-of-age and whether this differs for a person under 18 years-of age. [17874/26]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
