Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the issue raised by Senator Burke, which I raised yesterday. He emphasised the need for the child care debate. Again I would like to talk about children, although I do so in an indirect way. A survey was carried out in the US which showed that a healthy breakfast prevents heart disease. The survey was carried out on 27,000 men over a 20 year period, and it has shown that men who skip breakfast may face a higher risk of heart attack. I presume the same would hold true for women if the survey was carried out on them. There is no sexism here and I would presume it would be the case for both. Everybody should be made aware of the importance of breakfast. However, the issue I raise today is the importance of breakfast for schoolchildren.

It has been known over the years that children who eat a good breakfast perform better in school, concentrate better in school and have better outcomes, but the sad part is that we do not have any surveys in Ireland. The Minister for Social Protection launched a pilot project with six schools in association with a commercial company. If we are to get serious about best outcomes in education, particularly for disadvantaged children, then we should ensure that we start where it matters, at breakfast time. There are now children who are part of the new poor and cannot afford breakfast, as their parents spend all their money on mortgages and so on. This is not confined to DEIS areas, it is happening all over Ireland. Fair play to the Minister for starting the pilot project. We have an old urban scheme in Dublin and Cork and administered by councils, VECs and so on, but this should be put on national basis. The Minister for Social Protection has initiated this pilot project in conjunction with the private sector, even if the Minister for Education and Skills should be doing it. We need to proceed with this in whatever way we go about it. The figures are there to show that it is a false economy not to do it. If we are serious about education, we should feed the child and the child will do the rest.