Mary White (Fianna Fail)

Other countries such as Britain and the United States have technology to simulate what people would look like today. We do not have a system for doing so here and I call on the Government to set one up immediately. We see frequently on the television what a missing person would look like today.

I draw the attention of the Taoiseach — I apologise I should have said the Cathaoirleach, it was a Freudian slip — to today's The Irish Times. I am trying to drive change in child care and a major issue is that women should have more flexible working hours. Last week, Jessica Starmer, a short-haul British Airways pilot won a major achievement when British Airways had to concede that she would be allowed to work half the number of normal hours in order to allow her to mind her baby. Her union, the British AirlinePilots Association, supported her.

The UK has legislation to allow women to apply for flexible working hours. We do not have any such legislation here and I call on the Government to introduce legislation to allow women to apply for flexible working hours as part of the child care initiative. There is no reason a woman cannot go home from work at 3.30 p.m. if her child is finished school at that time, as she could work through lunch time. This is a significant problem as the greatest costs are after-school costs.