Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and am encouraged to hear about all that work. One thing I did not hear mentioned, and this should be the starting point, is the need to start with the well-being of children. We need to embed in any such agency what the well-being of children is and how it will be measured and monitored in order that all this activity generates an outcome, especially for children who start at a disadvantage.

Second, I refer to on the assets of the State, such as our schools. There must be an obligation on those who have substantial State assets to facilitate parents and providers to fill a gap that is urgently needed and is integral for successful education participation. That is difficult in the present system. There are many barriers to it and they need to be swept aside. We need to embed in this agency scope for innovation and leadership; not a rigid top-down model, which has featured in many of these sorts of reviews from experts. We need something that is flexible, but, of course, compliant and accountable. It has to be flexible to provide for development of innovation and leadership.

Finally, it has to be embedded in our communities. There has to be local capacity. That is why it is important that the role of county childcare committees should be expanded. We should expect that the five-year development plan would include an assessment of the gaps in provision for childcare. We consider all sorts of objectives in our development plan, but we do not consider one where we already have a county childcare committee. We should build that sort of responsibility at local level into this. Overall, I commend the Minister on his work. I look forward to engaging with him on that development as it unfolds.

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