Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

I thank the Minister for her answer. I realise that money is scarce and the Minister is constrained, but she will know that a report by the OECD in 2009 showed that we spend a lower percentage on the education of children under six than any other country in Europe. It is a fact of life that we have underestimated the importance of investment in children at the earliest stages. Even if the overall spend cannot change, we need to consider rebalancing spending with a view to greater investment in children in the early years. As the Minister admitted, all the research shows that such spending is the most productive of all. Every euro spent on children under six years of age saves the State €8 in the long term. That is dramatic. Surely it would be a great investment on the part of the State to spend more money on the early years.

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