Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our guests. It is very important for us to recognise that preschool education and child care is incredibly important given that children are at such a formative stage in their lives. It should always be in our minds when we discuss an issue like this. From my experience as a teacher, one can often come across a view that something to do with infants or first class is not that important, which is very false. What we are discussing is of significant importance for the development of our society.

In respect of the abuse shown in the "Prime Time" programme, have any of the delegation a sense of how widespread that abuse is? This is one of the major concerns people have. Could I get some clarification about how often inspectors visit different facilities and the penalties for non-compliance? How easy is it to close down a facility if it is not operating properly? It may not be appropriate for the delegation to answer this question, so they should feel free not to answer if that is the case. What will happen to the child care facilities examined in the "Prime Time" programme? To return to something mentioned by Deputy Ó Caoláin, would it be better if we had a State-owned, not-for-profit system for both preschool education and child care?