Mary White (Fianna Fail)

——and the establishment of a Department of children and the family. The approach suggest would remove responsibility for child care and family issues from the 11 Departments to which I refer. The bottom line is that every child, rich or poor, born in this country should have an equal chance. During my research I discovered that the parents of economically disadvantaged children cannot afford to send them to the crèches I visited.

There has been only one successful co-ordinated approach taken by Government in recent years. I refer here to that initiated by Mr. Haughey in respect of the Irish Financial Services Centre. The Secretaries General of the various Departments were brought together in respect of that matter and made to co-operate with each other. We must establish should an approach under a Department of Children and the family and ensure that child care policy is child oriented.