Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will not be surprised to hear that I have no criticisms of additional funding being required in the Department. This is a demand-led service and I am heartened that 13,000 more than expected availed of these measures. That is welcome.

I have a small number of queries. The Minister has outlined on numerous occasions the stark level of underinvestment for decades in the State. A number of schemes are due to come to fruition in 2019 and 2020 which will require additional budgets. Regarding the 0.5% of GDP and the target of more than 1%, will the Minister outline her long-term strategy to get us closer to the OECD average and to ensure we can meet the demands of expectant parents or couples who might be thinking about parenthood given that this will be of benefit to them in the future?