Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

I support Senator Quinn's call concerning the issue raised in the research carried out by a doctor in Trinity College into children going to school hungry. The only way to approach the issue is to keep highlighting it. I was surprised on reading the research to learn that children presenting themselves at school without having had a breakfast experience slow physical, intellectual and psychological growth. As a result, they have very low self-esteem and a lack of confidence. When we talk discuss child protection it is always in the context of legalistic matters and never ordinary everyday issues. This has nothing to do with poverty but covers all sections of society, the rich, the poor and the middle classes.