Ms Evelyn Reilly:

Yes. My concluding point is to recognise and reward the professionals. I told members the staff profile and have permission to provide the joint committee with just two names. Emma came to me as a student in transition year and obviously was influenced in her career. She went on to obtain her honours degree successfully and she leads curriculum development in the Aistear in Action programme in my preschool. She must work in a bar and sign on for the summer. Sarah has been with me for ten years, has an academic qualification and was refused - not even considered for - a mortgage when she got married last year. I will finish with a quotation from an American activist on the rights of children, Marian Wright Edelman, who said: "The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to." I thank the joint committee.