Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I enjoyed Senator Billy Lawless's contribution. In the week in which Mr. Donald Trump is to be nominated the Republican candidate for the presidential election in the United States, anybody with a sense of justice should reject Mr. Trump's racism, xenophobia and sexism at every opportunity in the coming months.

I raise the issue of disadvantage, particularly in the light of another visit by the Taoiseach to the north inner city of Dublin today. I greatly welcome this visit as it shows the Taoiseach's commitment to the issue that is ongoing in that locality. As Senators constantly try to remind ourselves, a criminal justice response to murderous feuds will not make a long-term difference. What would make a difference in areas such as the north inner city are investment, empowerment and education. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, to the House to discuss the roll-out of the area based childhood, ABC, initiative introduced by the previous Government. We should discuss the investment made under the programme, its success or otherwise and other initiatives that could be fleshed out to empower young people and parents.

The House should also discuss literacy issues. It is interesting to note that studies undertaken in the United States show that when the country's prison system, much of which has been outsourced to private interests, is planning its capacity needs for ten or 15 years hence, it examines literacy rates among current ten year old children. The reason is that identifying literacy rates among ten year olds allows the prison system to calculate how many prison spaces it will need in 15 years. We are also aware of studies of the oral language capacity of children of different backgrounds and income thresholds. We often have a knee-jerk reaction to feuds, killings, shootings and murders. If we are serious about long-term investment and change in areas of disadvantage, we must address parental and child empowerment because they will make a difference. I know that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is deeply committed to this change given her background and constituency. A debate on this issue would be highly beneficial.