Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I join with the Chairman in welcoming our guests this morning. I do not have a series of questions to pose to the delegation. In respect of many communities the length and breadth of the country, we listened in awe and hope because what the delegation has explained and outlined is a template. That is the real message. It is a powerful presentation that offers that hope. We know there are only three projects in the prevention and early intervention programme. I have spoken with some members of the delegation before and we know three further projects are promised. Communities in various locations, not just in this city but beyond, hope whether they can be one of those three.

Given that mine is a rural constituency, it is not likely to be included at an early point. I, therefore, ask about the capacity of the programmes which have been outlined by delegates. What numbers are engaged in delivery? There is a huge commitment in terms of home visitations. How does this translate in human resourcing terms? Perhaps they are not the right words to use, but what are the footfall and throughput? With how many can the programmes cope? Mr. Noel Kelly said a figure of 200 pregnant women was the starting point for Preparing for Life. What is the situation in relation to Young Ballymun? Can we be provided with comparisons? That is not to exclude anything other delegates said. Would any of them like to suggest this is a template that is only applicable to concentrated, urban areas, or will it have application in vastly rural areas? I represent the largest constituency geographically in the State. It stretches from a point ten miles from the Irish Sea to a point 25 miles from the Atlantic. The population is comparable to that in some of the major housing areas of Dublin. Can the programmes and initiatives cope with the extra pressures and challenges presented by a sprawling rural area?

This is all about preparing young children for life. Often times a failure of the past was to measure by reference to achievement. Measurement must be by reference to participation and equal opportunity. Mr. Kelly made a point about the utilisation of phraseology and making a strong start. The committee met Mr. Toby Wolfe just the other day to discuss Start Strong. I made the point then as an elected voice that more and more I was finding that young people were no longer able to access the fulfilling opportunities of sport, drama and music. Other colleagues will have seen this and heard it if not from their own children, then from other families. These are some of the early indicators of where poverty is really starting to bite. It is poverty when a child is denied access to activities that his or her peers continue to enjoy. It perpetuates the idea of the haves and the have-nots with which we all grew up and about which we know only too well from our own childhood memories. It must be addressed. The delegates are dealing with it at a very early point and there is no better place to start.