Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I extend my congratulations to Councillor Ian McGarvey and his wife Marjorie. Councillor McGarvey is 82 years of age and has been elected chairman of Donegal County Council. I suggest we all send him a note of congratulations. I am honoured to be a friend of Councillor McGarvey and his wife.

This morning I had the privilege to attend a fascinating conference on child care. Also in attendance were national and international experts. There was shock and horror in Ireland following the RTE "Prime Time" programme on crèches in Ireland. It is forgotten that the children of this country are the leaders of the future. We need to prioritise much more our vision of children in society. That television programme showed a lack of care and love for the children in the crèches. After 26 weeks of maternity leave, many women return to work, but they want their children to be loved. Love is more important than an academic education. Children learn from birth. If they are to avoid going into badly managed crèches which have poorly trained staff, we need to set high standards for those who work in our crèches. I am honoured to have been part of the Fianna Fáil group which took the initiative on the free preschool education. I am honoured also to have been part of the effort to put a Minister for child care in place. There is 95% take up of free preschool child care in the country. I call on the Leader to arrange for an urgent debate on the issue of child care. Those children are the leaders of the future.