Donegal County Childcare have this week revealed that approximately 20 parents are still awaiting a decision whether their child will be able to commence pre-school on 1st September.
Since DCCC highlighted that half of all grant applications to support children with disabilities to attend pre-school had been refused in July of this year, 14 of these decisions have been overturned by HSE.
Despite strong assurances from HSE that there was no withdrawal of supports in Donegal and that they have committed the same amount of funding as last year to this area, the amount of funding allocated to date falls far short of the 2015 allocation of €205,000.
In addition, children who can now access 2 pre-school years, due to the expansion of the ECCE scheme have also been refused citing that they have used up their allocation in the previous year.
Whilst DCCC has welcomed the reversal of some of the initial decisions, for the parents who are still awaiting a decision, it has been an anxious summer and time is running out.
Avril McMonagle, Manager of Donegal County Childcare told Donegal Daily, “With only two weeks to go before children are due to start pre-school, Donegal HSE’s handling of this situation is entirely unsatisfactory and very unfair to both parents and childcare providers.
“Even if a grant for a SEN Assistant is awarded now, there is no time to recruit a new member of staff and get Garda Clearance in time for the child’s starting date. It is crucial now that HSE Donegal inform parents of their decision without delay.”
DCCC have failed to get a meeting with the HSE Manager to discuss the situation.
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