Ms Suzanne Connolly:

That is without a doubt. The Deputy's question reminds me of a little ten-year-old girl I met whose mother attends Barnardos services. She says that she wants to be a doctor. I told her we will do everything we can to support her. However, the odds are against her given her circumstances and because her mother depends so much on her and all those sort of things. In the context of this discussion, I would like to be able to say to her, as I do, that all of us around her will do our best and that she can aspire to that. That is what this is really about. It is about aspiration, equality of opportunity and recognising that some children are just born into circumstances where the odds are against them unless we support them and there are possibilities for them to do well.