Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. Their presentation was very interesting and I appreciate the suggestions they are making. They are coming up with relatively simple and feasible solutions to the obvious needs of so many children throughout the country. The fact that we have nearly 200,000 children in poverty is a stain on our society. We will certainly see a greater impact following Covid-19. So many children who were already left behind will now get a double hit because of Covid-19.

Mr. Chance has said that the impacts of poverty include serious physical and mental health issues. Can he give details? What does that mean for children and families in real-life circumstances? What does it look like? I ask him to bring us back to the ground level of what all this really means. What impact is it having on so many families?

The suggestions that have been made by Mr. Chance are very good. Has he had any input to the Department? Has he had consultations with regard to the national childcare policy, which is being developed at the moment? Have there been any consultations with representatives of the Prevention & Early Intervention Network.? Their input is very good.

Mr. Chance suggested that €21 million could be made available from the national lottery. Has he costed up what it would take to provide funding for the early intervention he spoke of? To be honest, €21 million seems a very small amount in the context of such a widespread problem that covers so many different portfolios and regions. Has he costed it? What would €21 million achieve in the context of early intervention?