Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can only agree with the Deputy and I look forward to discussions with the committee. As Minister I will certainty be making this case, which is why I am very pleased to see references to children, families, early intervention and early years services in the medium-term economic strategy. We have a growing population of young people and there is no question that there are resource implications.

The message is very clear: early intervention works, saves money, makes children's lives better and means they can develop their potential. I believe very strongly that as a country and Government we must increase the focus on early intervention. I am very conscious, as is every Minister, of the resources available. Every Minister pushes his or her priorities and I will certainly not be slow in highlighting this need and working to have the appropriate budget so we can work with the group of 15% to 20% of children who need extra help if they are to do well as they get older. We will pick up the costs if we do not deal effectively with this cohort of young children; there is no question about that. Like everybody I must be cognisant of the economic situation.

We need to debate in society how much we want to do for those aged under five. Surprisingly, it has been a neglected group, given our talk about being a very child-centred country. We have not focused on services for those aged under five. All one has to do is consider maternity services at the very early stages. Very challenging work must be done to ensure we get the resources at an early enough stage. I will highlight this and will seek resources to ensure we can do the very best for this cohort of children. I also want a focus on early intervention because it is a cultural issue. Other countries are getting the message and we are beginning to see more and more focus on early years. I hope through the work I am doing as Minister we can get this cultural and societal focus on early years and put in the appropriate resources. As the economic situation improves this will become possible to a greater extent. The best way out of poverty is employment, which is why the Government is focusing on job creation, which will make a huge difference to families as they get access to employment. I take the Deputy's point on the ongoing work. I will ask the Secretary General, Mr. Breslin, to comment on the performance framework and the type of forward planning discussed by the Deputy.