Larry Butler (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Labour Party motion and the debate, and I support the Government amendment to the motion. We have had a very good, informed debate, which, I am glad to say, is the way we should go forward in this House. We all listened to what each other had to say. The Government's current programme for child care and child welfare is a good one.

I spent ten or 12 years on health boards and remember during that time there was no child care policy. A Minister was then appointed to look after children, which shows how important children are to the party and the country. We have a long way to go to deal with poverty. I agree with Senator Norris, it is almost impossible to totally eradicate poverty because one might think poverty, homelessness or various other problems have been solved, but they are not. I remember 50 people were living on the streets of Dún Laoghaire and we eventually got accommodation for them. A new centre was built for them but it did not cure the problem. There were still people sleeping on the street who would not come into the hostel, which is amazing. The accommodation is beautiful.

Poverty and child care is somewhat like that. Family responsibility plays a major role in ensuring the child comes first. One will find that a mother, a single parent or a father will always do their best. However, an addiction to drink or various other things can take over and ruin a child's life. This is where the State must act responsibly and quickly. We have reduced levels of finance and the Government is trying to do the best it can, but this is one area we should not cut back on. We have to ensure that child poverty, to the best of our ability, is eliminated. That is very important.

Children have social needs, whether in education or whatever. The Minister should rethink his decision on the cuts in education. It is the one thing with which I have difficulty. In delivering education to younger children we have put in place a major programme and it is a retrograde step to go back on it now. I understand approximately 500 children, a significant number, are involved who will not receive sufficient educational attention in school. The matter must be addressed and I will take it up with the Minister.

Our record in education shows there are 19,000 adults working in education solely representing and looking after children, which has been a huge plus. There are 10,000 special needs assistants — there were only 300 in 1997 — which is a fantastic achievement in ensuring we are getting the best quality education for our children. There are 7,800 resource and learning support teachers, compared with 2,000 in 1998. The Government has done very well in ensuring we have put resources in place.

People will say, "What did they do with the money?" There are significant resources. There are 1,100 other teacher support staff for children in special schools. There are hundreds more workers and special classes in the establishment since 2003. In 2007 there were 15,000 teachers. In 2008 €5.5 million was spent to provide support for professional training. It would be wrong to say we have not put significant resources into the teaching and welfare of our children. In 2007 €10 million extra was provided in the budget for children with special educational needs, which provided for a 33% increase in the Department's funding for psychological services. Regarding the full implementation of education for persons with special educational needs, excellent services continue to be provided.

The motion this evening raises a very important point. We must try harder and get better value for the money we are putting into education and see if we are spending it correctly. We need to ask if the organisations running the services for children are up to the job. This is what we have to look at. If the services are not up to the job, perhaps we should look at ways of delivering the service more efficiently and ensure they are more beneficial to the people we are trying to get them to. I commend to the House the Government's amendment to the motion.