Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire and gabhaim comhghairdeachas léi as ucht an post a thogáil sa Rialtas nua.

It is my first opportunity as Leader to welcome the Minister and congratulate her on her appointment. Having worked with her on many different battles during the previous Dáil, she brings passion and zeal to the job and we are lucky to have her in this post.

I refer to Senator Warfield's remarks regarding BeLonGTo, LGBT young people and, in particular, the transgender community. Everybody thought with the passage of the Gender Recognition Act, the issue had been resolved but we have a huge quantum of work to do still and based on my own observations of, and interactions with, the LGBT community, we have work to do on youth services. I commend BeLongTo on its work under the leadership of Ms Monnine Griffith. It is a path we have to work on and bring many people on a journey with us. The Senator's point is well made. I met members of the transgender community in the context of the gender recognition legislation and I am sure in time we will examine a pathway for people to transition. I am probably using the wrong language and I apologise for that but it is an area of huge sensitivity. Given the work of TENI and BeLonGTo, as an office holder, the Minister has to be cognisant of the fragility of life. The essence of what we are discussing in this context is giving people a new beginning and a new opportunity in life.

Equally, the Minister visited Cork ETB a few weeks ago to showcase youth work. Participants at the event were struck by her commitment and genuine interest, and by the time she took with different young people. We are lucky as a society to have a youth network that puts a value on young people and offers them a different life in some cases. The network makes them feel safe, secure, welcome and involved and a confidence is given to them that they might not experience in their own family life or in their life outside the network. We have been fortunate with youth work provision. I hope in the coming years a youth work blueprint will be produced to build on the work of Foróige and other organisations. While there are organised sporting, cultural and youth clubs, including the scouts and girl guides, we need to impress on each other and on the wider community the importance of youth work and of building bridges with young people to make them feel part of a community. I hope that will be done.

Senator Kelleher referred to the budget breakthrough and she is correct. Senator Higgins raised the infrastructure of life for young people on the Order of Business and child care is part of that. As former Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I fully recognise the importance and the need for a blueprint and the need to give families a tax break to make child care affordable. Much of the commentary on the budget has dealt with different issues. Grandparents and stay-at-home parents mind children but in some families both parents must work and a balance must be struck because affordable, quality child care is necessary while child care providers and their staff must earn an income that is commensurate with the work they do when our young children are entrusted to them.

It would be remiss of me not to refer to the importance of the Togher Family Centre, which I have discussed with the Minister, and the issues the staff there have raised with me. They need to be able to continue to provide quality child care for families in the area and they would like more funding. Senator Clifford-Lee will also work hard in her area in this regard. In the Togher case, services need to be extended, not reduced. It must be ensured the changes in regulation, which we all accept must be in place, do not create difficulties for these family centres and result in a reduction in service. I invite the Minister to visit Togher Family Centre because it a hive of activity. It is a wonderful centre where young people are treated as family, and loved and cared for. They adopt wonderful departures from the norm in terms of child care. It is a centre of excellence that deserves our commendation and praise.

I commend the Minister on the budget she has managed to secure, which is welcome. We must all work to ensure child care and youth work continues to be represented at the Cabinet table.