Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the contributors. All of us value the role of the public health nurse. While we value it, we must also be honest with ourselves because in many respects I believe it is largely taken for granted. Public health nurses never got public recognition for their role as somebody who monitors not only the health of children but also their welfare. It is an unspoken fact that in some of the cases I am aware of the public health nurse was the first person to go to the authorities about welfare issues for children. That is seldom acknowledged. We know what we are talking about here, given our hidden past and the abuse cases that have been highlighted. That must be said.

I wish to refer to something that was brought up by public health nurses in my locality. There was great hope with the 1999 report, and Ms O'Dowd referred to the report in her contribution. As politicians can say, it was high on aspirations and recommendations but, without putting Ms O'Dowd's future nursing career in jeopardy, there is a very strong feeling among public health nurses that nothing substantial came out of it. It should have. The report was well intentioned, but it did not enhance the role of public health nurses in terms of recognising the work they did. It is disappointing, and we are playing catch-up since. Is that a view she would share about the 1999 report? It referred to preschool children as well as others.