ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author meets Dr John Bennett in the lobby of Stormont Castle at a memorable cross-border conference held over two days in both Stormont and Dublin castles in 1994. The event was organised by Focus on Children, a cross-border group established to improve the lives of children on the island of Ireland. The event provided the opportunity for representatives from many agencies operating in both jurisdictions to come together and consider how the lives of children might be improved through increased Government investment and policy development. In that first engagement with John and in the many more that followed, he articulated his strong beliefs that investing in young children needed to be a central priority in Government policy making. John believed that a sufficient level of Government investment was required to ensure services were of a high standard.
