Parents of children with special needs require certainty and predictability. Their lives and those of their children are challenging enough without having to endure distress and anxiety caused by uncertainty and unpredictability. The Minister of State appreciates that. As my colleague Deputy Moynihan said, parents are deeply concerned that Nexus in Knocklyon and other locations has been informed by Tusla that due to its registration as a part-time service provider, it cannot take children who will be aged six or older for the 2026-27 school year. Nexus has been warned it could face sanctions, fines or prosecutions if it continues to provide services for those children. The families affected have argued that this decision could leave their vulnerable children without appropriate educational supports at a time of severe shortage of special school and special class placements. Deputy Moynihan and I had a meeting with the parents on Tuesday, where we heard at first hand about those anxieties. Parents are frustrated that they may be forced to choose between keeping their child at home, having to leave employment to provide care and placing their child in an unsuitable educational setting. Deputy Moynihan has highlighted the crux of the issue. As the parents have pointed out, Nexus has already been supporting children aged six and over for many years. It has undergone inspections without this issue being highlighted heretofore. Families are seeking clarity as to why a difficulty has now arisen and what steps will be taken to ensure their children are not disadvantaged. Tusla must explain why the provision of this care was okay until now. Was there an incident? What changed? Transparency on the part of both Tusla and the provider is needed before we can move forward.

Sentiment score: 0.07

Will the Minister of State clarify on whose behalf she is responding? Is it the Minister for children or the Minister for education?

Sentiment score: 0.00

One of the things that strikes me about the reply, which is not the Minister of State's responsibility, is its technical nature and the lack of child-focused orientation it displays. There is no comfort in it for parents as to what will be done for their children in six weeks' time. That is the real letdown. I fully concur with Deputy Moynihan that there is an avenue available to move this situation forward. I am grateful for the Minister of State's indication in that regard. If there is a child-focused view and perspective, then the Departments of children and education will move Heaven and earth to ensure that Nexus is in a position to qualify and to jump through the hoops that are there. I thank the Chair for allowing me a bit of latitude here. I am not saying Tusla is wrong in its position. Nexus may not have been upfront with us but we have no reason to believe that is the case. Tusla has not explained why it allowed this service to continue. According to the provider, there were inspections previously. Let us focus on the children. They need places and their parents need certainty for 1 September.

Sentiment score: 0.03