Ms Teresa Heeney:

I will deal with one or two of the points made and then pass over to my colleagues. I will manage the allocation and tell them what they are going to talk about. There was a question about the criticism of the scheme.

There has been such historical under-investment in the sector that it is impossible to imagine that anything could have been introduced in the budget which could have met all of the needs. However, what is to be welcomed is the policy shift and how it represents new strategic infrastructure. That is to be welcomed because this sector has been tormented by a piecemeal approach over the years, where €5 million was allocated here, €2 million was given there and then €3 million was given elsewhere. In other words, there was no tied-up thinking and no thought to the unintended consequences of policy initiatives in the past, perhaps. From that point of view if there is a tacit welcome, it is because of the infrastructural and strategic nature of the scheme. Mr. Geoghegan will take the question about parents.