Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Wallace. There is no doubt that Ireland was slow to develop comprehensive child care, but great progress has been made in the past number of years, primarily thanks to EU funding but also because of some national funding. Further developments in the area are hugely constrained despite the worldwide evidence because financial resources are limited. However, I assure the Deputy that I am personally committed to the area and I will seek to see whether resources can be made available, perhaps in the first instance to accommodate children with special needs and give them some extra time. I accept that the ideal would be to have a second year and I will progress work on that, but we are operating within tight financial constraints, as the Deputy knows.

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