Children with disabilities at risk of not achieving potential

An organisation representing pre-school has backed Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan’s call for proper supports for nearly 4,000 children with disabilities, saying they otherwise risk not achieving their potential.

Early Childhood Ireland is seeking a €36m investment from the Department of Education to provide special needs assistants (SNAs) for children attending early education services. It also wants increased and timely assessments so children with additional needs can fully benefit from Government investment in early childhood care and education.

“We know from the latest Pobal survey that 45% of all services had at least one child with a diagnosed special needs, and almost 4,000 children with disabilities were reported in these services,” said Early Childhood Ireland chief executive Teresa Heeney.