Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank her very much for coming in. I really look forward to working with her. The two areas we really need to make progress on in order to achieve equality are childcare and the equalisation of statutory leave for both parents. On childcare, I represent Dublin Fingal West, which is one of the youngest areas in the country. The Minister has heard this several times already but Balbriggan, for example, is the youngest large town and is culturally diverse. We have sites in Balbriggan, Rush, Lusk and Skerries. We are littered with sites for unbuilt childcare facilities and we have huge demand. It was one of the top issues that came up during the general election campaign. Not only did it come up because I knocked on doors; I lived it. I have eight-year-old twin girls and I could never get access to childcare facilities for them. I am extremely passionate about this. I have girls so I am determined that they do not face the same issue. We really need to be focusing on areas of high priority. I was very encouraged to see what was included in the programme for Government in relation to strategic forward planning. Can the Minister tell us where we are at and how we are going to ascertain the demand and prioritise the areas we need to?