Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

On many occasions during this session, Senators called for the facilities in the west and south to be opened. As a result of the important expansion of this worthwhile service, initial screening will be made available to women so that breast cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage. I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Harney, even if this development is long overdue. When she came to the House on two occasions earlier in this session, Members argued forcefully for the expansion of the service.

Many Senators, including Senators Fitzgerald, Alex White, Ormonde and Buttimer, paid tribute to Senator Norris, who has donated 40 boxes of archival material to the National Library. The Senator has made a huge contribution over the years. I would like to look through some of the boxes to learn more about how difficult the Senator has found it to get elected to the Seanad, particularly on the Trinity College panel. I do not mean to trivialise the donation Senator Norris has made, as I have great admiration for him. I thank him for his great gesture, which will be appreciated by everyone in the country.

Senators Fitzgerald, Norris, Alex White, Ormonde, Glynn, O'Reilly, McFadden, Kelly and Corrigan expressed their shock and horror at the death of a young man in Dublin at the weekend. As Leader of the House, I wish to send the condolences of the Seanad to the family of the man in question. He was a near neighbour of the Cathaoirleach, who knew him well. This dreadful and terrible tragedy should not have happened, and we all wish it had not happened. Action has to be taken to ensure things like this do not happen again.

I served on the former Midland Health Board with the Cathaoirleach for over 18 and a half years. Senator Glynn was a member of the board for much longer than that. During that time, huge changes were made to the health care system in the midlands. There was a change in the attitude to people suffering from mental illness, for example. We all took part in that process. I was on the tenders committee for County Westmeath for 18 years. We acquired many comfortable residences in counties Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Offaly and used them to care for patients in the community, as citizens of the community, with respect. That system has been an outstanding success 90% of the time.

I agree with the comments of my near neighbour from County Cavan, Senator O'Reilly, about the core care that is needed in the mental health area. The development of such care in the midlands has been an incredible success story. As Senators Glynn and Corrigan have worked in the mental health profession, they know these problems at first hand. I respect the views they have expressed to the House today. We can set time aside for a debate on the matter. The annual health budget, which is currently €16 billion, is four times greater than it was ten years ago. When unfortunate tragedies of this nature occur, we have to do whatever we can to assist those working in this field. When we have an opportunity to discuss this issue in the House, we will need to give the Minister advice. I assure the House that I will set time aside for such a debate in the early days of the next session.

Senator Norris passed on his condolences to the family of the late Christie Hennessy, whom I knew well. I had the honour and privilege of paying tribute to Christie Hennessy on the airwaves. To say he was a genius would be an understatement. He came up the hard way before making an immense contribution to the music and entertainment industries. His biggest hits were "Don't Forget Your Shovel" and "All the Lies That You Told Me", which gave Frances Black her first number 1 hit single. However, the song I most remember from Christie Hennessy's shows was "I Am a Star", for which he received a standing ovation and an encore every time he sang it. The title of that song sums up the man — he was a star and he will continue to be a star. It is sad that he died at the young age of 62. I want to be associated with the tributes which Senator Norris led here today.

Senator Buttimer expressed his views about the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. While the Senator is a good colleague and friend, I do not agree with him on this occasion. He is following in the footsteps of a lifelong friend of most of those of us who have been in the Seanad for a long time, the former Senator Dino Cregan. He has a very high standard to live up to. He has the ingredients to do it, but whether he has the——