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especially those of the Recreation Select Committee, are not frequent. After tomorrow, there will be only one meeting in July. I wonder if, for the needs of the public, especially local residents in the Eastern District, arrangement can be made for facilities to be opened during the day time for children between 4 and 9 and for certain periods to be exclusively for children between 2 and 4?
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU (in Cantonese): --I think consideration should not be given only to the provision of more periods of opening hours. Regarding facilities, if the expenditure is not high, our Director/Deputy Director can increase certain facilities without seeing the permission of the select committees. I believe the Department should do something even during the summer recess. This may be raised in meeting of the Recreation Select Committee tomorrow, and we will see whether the Department has any concrete proposals to meet the genuine needs of the public.
MS. CHRISTINA TING YUK-CHEE (in Cantonese):-I have follow-up questions. Firstly, an activity room was first set up in Java Road Indoor Games Hall because of my efforts to fight for it. In the past, there were no such facilities in UC complexes or indoor games halls. However, such facilities are provided in some venues nowadays. I am very concerned about the services for children. I want to ask if the Department has any plans to increase manpower in providing services for children. I often go to the children activity room in Java Road for inspection, visit and play with the children. I learn that there is manpower shortage there and the staff has to attend to the children in batches. There is only one staff. I also share Mr. Wong's hope for extension of opening hours, but staff must be on duty there. We all know the difference between ages of 4 and 9, and they cannot be mixed together. Some nine years old children may snub the four year old children and make them cry. There must be someone on duty to keep order, otherwise the extension of opening hours would not work. I did ask the tutor/trainer/activity room supervisor why there was only one person on duty. He told me he even had to attend to the children going to the toilet. If that is the case, then I think, Mr. Wong, we have to consider increasing the manpower before extending the opening hours.
Secondly, I can see that children from 4 to 9 play together in the Java Road play room and the facilities there are quite worn out. The play room there was set up years ago, but the facilities were never replenished. For example, the number of balls in the balls pool have decreased. We need to put in more balls. I think it would be better to separate facilities for children of 2, 3 or 4 years old and those for children of 7, 8 or 9 so that elder children would not damage the facilities inside the room.
Thirdly, although facilities provided at the Wong Nai Chung Indoor Games Hall's activity room are good, the place is too small. For example, the slide and the balls pool can only hold a small number of children. Please let Members know if a bigger space is available in future. It is indeed too small.
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