Mary White (Fianna Fail)

When the Minister was Leader of the Opposition in the Seanad, she played a very vibrant role in highlighting issues relating to children. I produced my policy document, A New Approach to Childcare. All of us together were part of getting the Government to introduce the free child-care scheme, which has made a dramatic change in the lives of children, particularly those from disadvantaged families. Based on my research, before we had the free child care, it was pretty obvious that parents with money were able to send their children to pre-school and they were ending up in national school with a considerable start on children whose parents did not have the money. I congratulate the Minister on maintaining the funding. I also congratulate her on getting Government agreement on the early years strategy. I agree with the Minister on the drive to improve the lives of children from birth - actually from before they are born. From the time a child is conceived, maintaining the mother's health and the baby's health is part of the overall development.

I am dealing with an issue relating to a disadvantaged family with six children, with whom I have been involved for a number of years. After visiting their home recently, I said to the HSE person that we should keep our mouths shut when we are being critical of human rights in China. If this woman had been born into a normal family, she would have been a member of Mensa - she is of exceptional intellectual ability. However, because she is a Traveller - I want to maintain confidentiality - and was not able to develop her skills, she is totally frustrated by not having been able to use her potential. I have known her for more than 20 years. She has six children and there is-----