Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank Senator van Turnhout and other Senators for putting this important motion before the House. My Fine Gael colleagues and I are delighted to support it. The Minister has stated that the Government as a whole also supports the motion. I am taking this matter on behalf of Senator Imelda Henry who is unavoidably absent.

I will begin with a quote from Dr. Maria Montessori who said:

Character formation cannot be taught. It comes from experience and not from explanation. The child builds his inmost self out of the deeply held impressions he [or she] receives.

What kind of impressions does a child receive from beauty pageants? They are not the kind of impressions we want our children to get. Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell mentioned Wordsworth's poem The Rainbow.