Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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Everyone is welcome to the meeting. I dare not say that I am enjoying listening to the speakers, because their comments are stark. It is sad to think that we are failing so many people. I congratulate Ms Smith on her achievements. They are great to hear. More power to her. As she said, however, it was stubbornness that got her there. The default should not be stubbornness to be successful. It should just be there for her.

My first question is to the Children’s Rights Alliance. I was interested in their concept of the localised childhood poverty plan. As someone who worked on it with a revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, RAPID, co-ordinator years ago, I see how looking at an area in its unique self works to improve the lives of people. I would like to know more detail about that concept. How would they see that being rolled out?

It is a good idea. From listening to one of the speakers, perhaps our committee can write to the Department and ask to find out about those increasing baby-boom numbers. It is an important aspect. As I said, we are putting up barriers to people entering education, re-entering education and entering into work. If we have no one to mind our babies, then there is another block, never mind the cost, which is an issue we are all working on constantly.

To ask a general question as well, how do the witnesses feel about individualisation in the context of looking at supports? I dare not say benefits, because they are not. We are examining supports to get families to a better standard of living. In that regard, I point to the inflexibility of all our systems, their inability to work together and the siloing of educational grants, as Ms Smith rightly said. She was not entitled to a SUSI grant because she was not going to education full-time. How far away are we from individualisation in respect of looking at the individual to enable supports to work best for the person concerned, because the circumstances of every family and every individual are different? I would like hear the witnesses' opinions on those aspects.