Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raised a broad range of issues. Regardless of whether it is the centenary of the First Dáil, we should be looking after our children. The requirement to do that is a big priority in the Constitution. If a country cannot look after its most vulnerable and its children, it has to ask itself some straight questions. We have areas where we have made huge progress. Even during the recession, Governments continued to prioritise expenditure in education. We will continue to do that and we will improve the quality of education and the resources that are available to teachers. Hot meal programmes in schools, particularly DEIS schools in areas where income may be challenging for families, are also important. On the arts, for example, I am sitting next to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan, who has responsibility for Creative Ireland, the new arts policy, which has a children's element to it.

Housing is perhaps the most challenging area of domestic policy for this Government. We have far too many children in emergency accommodation. The Government is determined to change this because it is not acceptable to have families and children in emergency accommodation for long periods or at all. That is why we are spending so much money and time on a social housing building programme. We will assist over 27,000 individuals and families this year with their social housing needs. Clearly, there is still more to be done to get on top of that issue.

I agree with the Deputy on all the principles he has outlined but, as he knows because he has been in government, the practical response, cost, policy changes and legislative protections are what are required from Government to make these things a reality. In many of these areas, Ireland is an international example of how to get things done but we still have work to do in some areas, particularly with the housing challenges, which are a hangover from a deep recession that was driven by a collapse in the property industry.

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