Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

I was getting carried away listening to the wonderful stories about north-west Donegal. I welcome the Minister. It is interesting to consider the picture of Ireland being broadcast to the world — the picture of what Ireland is becoming. The Minister gave an example of the arrival of a baby. The registration of his or her birth is automatically sent to the Department, a PPS number is allocated and there is automatic registration for child benefit, which is paid to the mother directly, as it is for subsequent children. One of the first things I did in this House after my election in 1997 was to try to convince the former Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dermot Ahern, to change the regulations dealing with child benefit that were in place at that time. In those days, if one did not apply for child benefit within the first three months of the child's birth, one did not receive it. If one wrote a letter saying one was not really with it, one might receive the money later.