Well being of Children is paramount
Issued : Monday 7 May, 2007
Siobhan McLaughlin, Labour Party Candidate for the North East has fully endorsed the Labour Party's 'Ten Point Plan for Children'.. The mother of two said: "As a country we have; no greater duty than nurturing and caring for our children. As parents and citizens, nothing is more important than the well-being of our children. Yet, as a country, we are quite simply not doing enough.
"There is a responsibility on all of us to ensure that Ireland is a great place to grow up. We can achieve that if we work together, and if a competent Government leads the way."
She said that the provision of pre-school education to all our children is one of Labour's key commitments for change. "Pre-school provides a valuable opportunity. It's a time when they learn how to learn. Pre-school education helps build stepping stones for the primary school years and beyond. "Pre-school is a great investment," she said, adding that "one Irish study suggests that the return on investment exceeds 700%.
"Many parents like me -my youngest is eleven- are increasingly concerned at the encroachment of commercial pressures on childhood. Children are subject to a constant bombardment of commercial messages, both on TV, and increasingly in schools. In my view, public sector broadcasting needs to recognise that childhood is special. I believe RTE should designate a number of periods in the day for children's programming, where there is no advertising. For example, if RTE schedules a children's movie on a Saturday evening, then it could be run without ad breaks.
"Children should enjoy protection and security, nurturing and opportunity, and they should benefit from the best educational and developmental opportunities we can provide. This is why the ten-point plan has been devised to make Ireland one of the best places in the world to be a child," she concluded.
