Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss the UN committee's report on child care in Ireland and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Minister of State is eminently qualified to do so and has performed extremely well in this regard. I thank him for all the work he has done on children's rights and affairs. I met him in various locations around the country and noted that he takes his job very seriously and has championed the provision of child care facilities.

Some of the UN committee's criticisms are a little over the top. Approximately 17 criticisms have been highlighted and I will refer to two, one of which is the lack of child care facilities. Much work has been done in this regard over the years and we could not debate this issue without recognising it. However, there is a need for many more pre-school places. Such places give children a proper start in life, especially in disadvantaged communities.

Grind schools and fee-paying schools have become part of the education system. In my area Boyle2000.com provides computer training in the form of European computer driving licence courses to every child of national school age. This has enhanced the children's computer skills and has given them confidence. The advantaged or well-off are usually the only ones who can afford such courses. The course in question has been a great success. It has been allocated funding and could be allocated much more. It is a pilot scheme carried out in conjunction with various community groups and it has worked. It costs €3 or €4 per week but if a family cannot afford it, it is not charged, thus allowing all children to participate. The model is worth considering. Much pre-school and child care provision is of good quality but a little more can be done in this regard.

We need to be vigilant about the increase in the number of racist crimes. Ireland was traditionally very inward-looking and was not used to immigration. It presents a great challenge but I would like to believe we have met it quite well. This does not take from the fact that there are pockets of people who are plainly racist. We must adopt measures on the ground to address this. One or two schools in my constituency have expelled young students for hurling racist abuse at visitors. In the towns in question, the Garda has taken the problem on board but it seems to have no resources or detention places for the offenders. It is unnerving to note that the offenders, who may be 15 or 16 years of age, are probably misguided and out of control. Their parents probably do not have the proper skills or confidence to take them on. The youths in question are engaged in bullying outside the school environment.

I am concerned that this problem is becoming prevalent throughout the country. The offenders are more than likely male but some are female. When one is 15 years of age and running wild, one has no responsibilities. This must be dealt with. The Garda, parents and teachers are trying to tackle the problem but there do not seem to be enough detention places or other mechanisms of redress. We need to explore solutions to stamp out racist offences and bullying.

Many resources and much time are being devoted to addressing the poor health status of Traveller children. I was travelling from Sligo some days ago and admired all the new houses and housing estates. Most of the new houses are quite well insulated and have all the modern conveniences, including hot running water, showers and televisions. When one goes by Travellers' caravans on a wet day, one says to oneself that one would not be able to live in such conditions, which have a bearing on the poor health status of Traveller children. We all believe more must and can be done to address this.

The lack of progress in banning the smacking of children was raised. We are losing control of ourselves in this regard. When I was a certain age, a good smack sometimes did me no harm.