Alex White (Labour)

I only have three or four minutes to speak and I ask the Minister to indulge me. If the Minister believes as strongly as she appears to that ABA is one of a range of options and should not be given centre-stage, will she publish the convincing evidence she appears to have read? When she makes her argument she does so second-hand. She states all of this evidence exists. Will the Minister send it to me and allow me as a Member of this House, a parent and a citizen to compare both sets of evidence? Let me and the people of Ireland make up our minds. Let those involved in the struggle, the Ó Cuanacháins and others, make up their minds as to whether what the Minister says is true. Whereas I am not suggesting the Minister is misrepresenting the matters to the House, we as citizens and legislators have an entitlement to make up our own minds on the basis of what we read and not simply take it on the good faith of the Minister.

The Minister made unfortunate statements which may be unwittingly divisive. She claimed she is interested in the child-centred approach rather than a method-centred one.