Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

If she is, I advise her to start talking more to the Ministers and they should listen to her.

We need to support parents who are raising families, the young people who are struggling. They are getting up earlier, they are stuck in traffic and there are no buses, as was the case in Dublin yesterday and today. I know that children are in school at 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. Being a parent today is becoming more stressful and it does not need Government to make it worse.

The partnership approach has been espoused by all sides of the House and child care is deserving of support because it is a central pillar of raising a family. When I was young my mother opted to stay at home rather than go out to work. That was her choice——