Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 October 2025
676. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average time to decision in AIM funding applications, by funding level, for each year 2021-2025 to date, in tabular form. [56591/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with additional needs can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. The goal of AIM is to empower Early Learning and Care (ELC) providers to deliver an inclusive preschool experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme and reap the benefits of high-quality early learning and care through universal and targeted supports.
AIM Level 7 support provides additional funding to ELC providers, the funding acts to either reduce the child-to-adult ratio in the room or to fund an extra staff member as a shared resource with other children in the setting. Since September 2024, AIM Level 7 funding was expanded to include for an additional 3 hours during term time, or an additional 6 hours during non-term time for ECCE eligible children.
AIM Level 5 provides funding for specialised equipment, appliances or small capital grants towards minor building alterations. A short report from a designated professional is required confirming that the specialised equipment or minor building alterations are necessary to enable the participation of a child in pre-school.
AIM Level 4 is delivered by Better Start Early Years Specialist Service (EYSS). They work collaboratively with parents, pre-school providers, and with other professionals to develop inclusive learning environments in pre-schools. The EYSS also provides coaching and mentoring to the pre-school staff on supporting children in the ECCE service. This includes the creation of an Access and Inclusion Plan for children, which can help identify additional support and resources required to meet the needs of the child in the pre-school room.
The timeline for processing applications is currently under review between officials in my Department and Pobal, who are the administrator of the AIM scheme on behalf of my Department. A key objective of the ongoing review is to learn from provider experiences to improve the application process.
Please see the below tables relating to the average number of days it takes to process an application in level 4, 5 and 7. These are currently the only targeted supports which require an application. To note, programme year 2025-2026 covers up to the 14th of October 2025.
