Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister answering, comprehensively and at length, the various questions, or sometimes the same question asked in different ways about child care , supports, etc., but the Government is not stepping up to the plate. Several other members of the Government, such as the Ministers for Social Protection, Finance and Education and Skills, should be involved. There has to be a much more holistic approach to child care than the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, answering the questions about where the money is divvied out.

One of the groups that lobbied us during the election campaign - and one of those I was most impressed with for its presentation and ambition - is Start Strong, which advocates early childhood education. It makes the obvious point very well that the greater the investment in young children, the bigger the return as they go through life. There is less chance of them falling into addiction, going to prison or experiencing any other problems. It reckons €1 billion is required to get this right. Somebody, it could have been the Minister or Deputy Coppinger, quoted a sum of approximately €300 million earlier. That is a third of what is required to get this right in our small little country. Perhaps we could chat with other Ministers about the need to address this. It is not just a problem for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

See this speech in context