Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

There was a failure to acknowledge that the need existed and was growing. The demand became spectacular with the turn of the new century.

There have been a number of Government initiatives in this area over the past seven or eight years to target the phenomenal growth and to acknowledge that the problem exists and is growing. First, there was the establishment of a Cabinet committee on children. This was a significant move to try to integrate and co-ordinate the range of services that existed. While there might have been an historical reason the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform had responsibility for policy relating to children, I have never been able to accept it. I do not accept it today and I will not accept it tomorrow. Nevertheless it exists but I hope it will not be there for much longer. To that extent I empathise with Senator Ulick Burke.

The Cabinet committee on children was one structure established by the Government in an attempt to pull all the strands together and to give some kind of unity of purpose to policy and the implementation of policy in the care and education of children. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, is an example of how joined-up Government is attempting to work by virtue of his having responsibility across a number of Departments. It is a nonsense that responsibility for children is spread over five Departments. I am prepared to accept that without equivocation. It should not continue for much longer and I hope it does not.

The national children's strategy was another significant development. The Department of Education and Science published a White Paper, Ready to Learn, following extensive public consultation. Following from the White Paper, the Centre for Early Childhood Development in Education was established. Its aim was to develop and co-ordinate early childhood care and education in line with the objectives of the White Paper. The OECD produced a report last year following a wide ranging examination of early childhood care and education. It identified significant shortcomings to meet present and future demands in this area. Many of its recommendations have been endorsed and reinforced by the report of the forum that was published this week.

A number of significant developments have been and are taking place across Departments. I hope they are all moving towards the centre and that ultimate objective to which Senator Ulick Burke referred with which I agree. For example, in a new departure for it, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has published a document that seeks to work in close partnership with the early childhood sector. It was not established for that purpose but it has now acknowledged that new role and is embracing it enthusiastically. That document was the first publication of its kind to extend beyond the boundaries of pure education, which is a significant development. I admit that progress has been slow. It is not before its time and has a lot further to go but, nevertheless, it is to be welcomed. As I stated, the national children's strategy is a vital component in the overall approach.

I welcome the National Economic and Social Forum report. Many of its recommendations are far reaching, challenging and tell us some home truths. We are on the right road. We are moving towards a unified approach to this problem in terms of Departments. I call on the Government to designate a single Minister at the Cabinet table with full responsibility for this area. It would be most appropriate that the responsibility would rest with the Minister for Education and Science.

I agree with the conclusion of the forum's report. We have a unique opportunity over the next ten years to establish a landmark in social and educational history. Many elements are already in place. This debate is concerned with young children from birth to six years of age. It is about how to provide the best care for them in the Ireland of today and into the future. It is about creating the best environment for them in which to learn and about enabling all our children to have the best quality of life possible and to participate as fully as possible in society. If we can move closer to realising those objectives, our children and society in general will stand to reap great dividends along the way.