Mr. Bernard Gloster:

I thank the Senator. I will begin with the Senator's own questions and my colleagues in the Department will answer Deputy Dillon's questions. With regard to whether seven years is too ambitious, all of us would say seven years is a long time in the life of children. Whether with regard to a policy or regulatory framework, seven years is quite a generous time. I recognise what representatives of the sector would say about the enormous challenge depending on its scale. What is particularly positive about this policy document is that it is now an articulated action plan that has a lot of sensibility built into it. The seven years will be productive and will deliver on as many parts of the plan as possible, rather than being a scenario of all duck or no dinner. The incremental phase is important.

I thank the Senator for her comments on the St. Patrick's Guild group. I met people in a very private and sensitive context. I will meet some of them again. This has been scheduled for the coming days. I hope we can continue to build in a supportive way for them.