Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to address the House on this important issue. I am delighted the Minister of State is present to listen to this sensible proposal. I hope the Government will provide funding for a very worthwhile pre-school education project. Preparing for Life is a plan to enable children to be ready for school. Fewer than half the children living in disadvantaged communities are ready for school at four and five years. A poor start at school stacks up problems later in childhood and into adulthood.

Several Government initiatives focus on enabling children to be better prepared for life. A group working on the north side of Dublin has prepared an excellent plan to make the most of existing resources and increase the proportion of children ready for school. The plan seeks to turn good intentions into practical ideas, which, if proved to be successful, could be implemented in other parts of the country.

The plan has many unique aspects. It seeks to address the needs of children at each stage of development from conception to the day they go to school. It works with parents as children grow up showing how improvements in children's well-being eases stress on families. Moreover rather than claiming that it has the answer, rigorous evaluation will be an integral part of the plan. The people involved aim to discover which of their ideas work before recommending that they be taken up elsewhere. The plan also sets out the way in which the preparing for life group set about finding new ways of getting more children born into three very disadvantaged communities better prepared for school each year. The plans also connect not only to improve the well-being of children in the area but also to demonstrate possible courses of action for other disadvantaged communities in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe.

Approximately 7,000 people live in these communities and the proportion of children aged 14 or less is twice that of Ireland as a whole and the number of children under one year is also elevated. Approximately 70% of the families live in houses rented or being purchased from the local authority, which is up to three times higher than the national average. While unemployment has reduced by approximately 45% in the past five years, approximately one in nine adults are still out of work. Drug dealing, safe play areas for children, clubs for teenagers and tackling so-called joy-riding are among the primary concerns for parents in the community.

Only 12% of the children in this area continue to third level, which is less than a quarter of the national average. To make matters worse more than two fifths of children leave school by their 15th birthday compared with less than one fifth nationally. Problems with heating, damp, fixtures and fittings are experienced in 56% of the houses. More than 55% of the children do not go to bed before 8 p.m. Some 26% of the children displayed significant problems with conduct before starting school. One in five children has major health and eating difficulties. Some 31% of children starting school last year had missed ten or more days by the end of March.

Sadly 52% of the children in these communities were not ready for primary school when they commenced. School readiness is the critical stepping-stone to well being in childhood and into adulthood. There is strong evidence that this lack of readiness contributes to significant behaviour problems in school, which tends to de-motivate teachers and adversely affects other pupils. Lack of readiness greatly disadvantages children's learning resulting in them frequently arriving at secondary school with significant reading, writing and attention deficits. By this pathway problems in the first few months of primary school eventually contribute to higher levels of school dropout which in turn leads to lower levels of university attendance and lower income levels among children born into disadvantaged areas.

I urge the Minister of State to consider the proposals of this worthwhile group. I commend and thank those directly involved, including Noel Kelly and the northside partnership team for their excellent work. While this plan is about children, education and quality of life, it is also about preventing children from becoming at risk later in life. It will assist in preventing them getting involved in drugs and ending up in our prisons. Above all the plan is about creating a positive future for disadvantaged children. I urge the Minister of State to listen to the proposal when it comes on stream in coming weeks.

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