Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

Regarding child care, it is worth pointing out that if the equal opportunities child care programme was not being driven by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, it would not be driven by any Department. While I support calls for handing child care over to a single Department, our current position regarding child care policy is totally ad hoc. I attended the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights yesterday and listened to many groups, including the ADM and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform speak about the equal opportunities child care programme. It is clear that the Department of Finance is currently holding up the entire process. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has to go cap in hand to the Department of Finance to get funding to continue providing staffing grants to disadvantaged families and children who otherwise will not be able to access employment and training unless these great facilities in place throughout the country are supported. I am not defending the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.