James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to reassure the House that the participation unit in the Department - the strategy itself is, I believe, the first of its kind in the world - is there to allow the voice of the child to be heard. My view on this matter is very clear. If we do not have the input from children, the users of our services, whether such services be in the areas of education, health, housing, etc., then we cannot possibly hope to address their needs. They are more familiar with their needs than we are. We must ensure that they have to say is not just heard, but that is listened to and reflected in what we do.

It was great to be able to say in my closing remarks to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Geneva that, through the good offices of the Children's Rights Alliance and the Ombudsman's office, there were young people looking in who had made submissions and who had been listened to in the past. I hope those young people heard the issues they raised being discussed. To them, I want to say a big "Thank you". I also want to say thank you to all the NGOs that made the effort to send representatives to the hearing and to inform the committee. I have no doubt but that the latter nudged the members of the committee along in respect of some of the questions they asked, particularly after lunch.

In fairness, and to be serious about this, if we want to drive forward and make progress we need everybody who is involved to be engaged in the process. We need to listen to each other. In that way we will learn more from one another and from other countries and we can make this the best country - not just the best small country - in the world in which to grow up and raise a family.