Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He must have been. I am glad to hear that. I will be happy to invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the House. He is in the North today engaging in talks and I wish him and all the parties involved in that very important task of getting power sharing restored in the North good luck.

Senator Murnane O'Connor referred to the number of children in poverty. It is important to recognise that more people are at work now than in a decade. The Senator can shake her head but that is a fact. I accept that there are people in poverty, on low pay and unemployed and there are people we need to lift out of that cycle of poverty. The best way to do that is to get people on the live register working and to have activation measures to ensure no child is left behind. As somebody who worked in myriad jobs before coming here, I am very much aware of the need for early intervention and I would be happy to have the Minister for Employment and Social Protection come to the House.