Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support the Minister in her explanation for not accepting the amendment. For a long time we have operated in silos. Responsibility for child protection lies with social workers, while responsibility for newborns rests with public health nurses, when really we all have a responsibility when it comes to children's development. Being overly prescriptive is to leave things out. Section 72 explicitly states, as does section 1, the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board will be dissolved and their administration, business, connections and functions will transfer to the new agency. This is explicitly stated in sections 71 and 72 and referenced in section 8(1)(a). There is no need to say something twice and we should bear this in mind. I do not disagree that education is an integral part of development, but when we speak about child development, we are speaking about education in the home, the community and schools. It is the function of everybody, not just a particular agency, to ensure developmental milestones are met.