Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for facilitating this debate. This new Government recognises the need to protect and care for children and it has created a specific Department under the competent stewardship of the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald. No death of a child in care is acceptable but such deaths occur. We have to focus on understanding the underlying reasons for such deaths. I was astonished when I saw the figure of 6,215 children who are in care and this figure is an increase of 900 in three years. A crowd of 6,000 people would fill a lot of Kildare Street, for example. While I accept that many people are more competent than me to speak on this issue, I will address this aspect of the report.

I commend the Minister on addressing the problem by focusing on understanding the issues and then by addressing them in a coherent fashion. I am a scientist and we are trained to lay out the facts and then figure out how to deal with them. It is very important to deal with a situation in a systematic fashion because a haphazard approach does not work. The Minister is correct when she says there is no quick fix to this legacy issue. However, we must ensure that each step forward is a step in the right direction. People are always looking for quick fixes and it is probably as a result of the Celtic tiger era when everything was quick; people had to earn money fast and the lifestyle was fast. The fact that there was a deterioration in lifestyles as a result is another issue.

I agree the State is not perfect and never has been and there have been failures. However, the new architecture for child welfare and protection and integrated family support services, is a great step forward. I refer to the six core principles set out by the Minister in her contribution. There must be a consistency of practice which should not be different from Cork to Donegal. Local management will be responsible for prioritising cases and this means that cases are less likely to slip through the net, so to speak. There must be an emphasis on prevention and early intervention. Financial discipline is crucial to ensure that resources are used to best advantage. Reliable and real-time data is vital in order to make coherent and correct decisions. Inter-agency collaboration will ensure that people communicate with each other and will allow for better use of facilities. We are all aware of the failures of the State in this regard and these are being addressed.

I am a parent and I ask why so many children, a total of 6,215, are in care. I ask what are the underlying reasons for children being in care in such numbers. Why is the family structure breaking down at an alarming rate? It may be factors such as alcohol abuse, mental health issues, drug use or financial distress. People in financial distress make decisions under stress. Personal responsibility must be taken into account. I suggest that funding be directed towards developing parenting skills. No parent is given a book of answers when it comes to rearing a child and every child is different even when all reared together. However, it must be noted that some children are under-fed while others are over-fed. In my view, nutrition needs to be emphasised. Home economics was a school subject which needs to be reintroduced to the school curriculum and it should be a mandatory subject. Food affordability will be an issue as food inflation increases. We do not want children going to school hungry nor children going to school obese. Both extremes are damaging. Families are feeding children with high carbohydrate and high fat diets. There is a lack of understanding of health issues. Feeding children a diet which will lead them to an early grave is irresponsible and the State must ensure this issue can be addressed.

When people have children they have responsibility both to them and to their State. The question is how we, as a State, can encourage people to rear their children and to show respect. I am a member of a school board of management and can report that teachers do a great job in this regard. They spot vulnerable children at an early age, intervene and help them. Sometimes all that is needed is a small intervention.

I refer, too, to foster parents. Their funding should be kept as it is and protected. These people are very sincere and decent and do considerable work that must be recognised. Other payments may be attacked but funding for foster parents should never be touched because it goes to the children.

I wish the Minister well in her job. I admire her open-mindedness and her progressive approach. This is a very serious issue and it is good to see the State is taking it seriously. Although we will not have success overnight each step we make in this regard is a step in the right direction.

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