Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis na finnéithe as ucht an méid atá ráite acu. I met representatives of the End Child Poverty Coalition last week and therefore I have had a discussion on this topic already. A number of questions arise in this regard but also with regard to some of the pronouncements on child benefit in the past week in particular. I am one of those who believes in the universality of child benefit. The argument that we can have a universal child payment and a second-tier payment is a dangerous road to go down because the same argument can be used for the universality of the free preschool education place, a second year of free preschool education, free schooling or anything else. What are the witnesses' views on that? The National Women's Council might prefer that if there is to be a change, at the very least it would happen at a different ratio but I would be concerned if we go down that road.

I will not dwell on Labour Party election promises - we have had that debate - but last week the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, stated that the money from a further cut in child benefit could be used to invest in a second year of free preschool education. In the following days, however, the Tánaiste stated there would be no further changes to child benefit. Have the witnesses any indication of what is happening in that regard? They stated that they met the Minister for Social Protection and if she is suggesting that committee should further examine the Mangan report, that suggests the Tánaiste is out of step with either the Minister, Deputy Burton, or the Minister for Education and Skills. We do not know where we are on that.

On the €450 million the witnesses stated has been taken out of child supports to date, do they agree that that €450 million has not been reinvested in child services, which would be contrary to what the Minister, Deputy Quinn, suggested? He may have been talking about doing that in the future but the existing €450 million cut in recent years has not improved services. Currently, social welfare payments are viewed as a social transfer and it has been shown that social transfers work in terms of dealing with poverty, especially child poverty. Is investment in preschool places regarded as a social transfer or an investment in education? Can they be grouped together?