Ms Norah Gibbons:

I thank the Deputies. I will respond to Deputy Maloney first. I firmly believe that children are the responsibility of every one of us and very much welcome that the Children First guidelines will be put on a statutory basis. That will tell every citizen that he or she has a responsibility if things are going wrong for children.

Unfortunately, we are not unique in not recognising children as full individuals in their own right. It is only relatively recently in the first world that we have treated children as people who should be heard, listened to and given their own voice. All of us who grew up in Ireland, even with the very best of parents, know that one was told what was good for one rather than being asked.