Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I too welcome the former Cathaoirleach, Mr. Brian Mullooly. I was delighted to see him looking so well. He set a great standard in the House which has been followed by other Cathaoirligh since then.

I, too, congratulate the Taoiseach on his achievements in office and wish him well for the next stage in his career. I was in Washington during the visit of the Taoiseach last week and was very impressed by what I saw. He made a wonderful speech to the Joint Houses of Congress and I attended two other speeches that he made on the visit. I do not know if he made other speeches but the impact he made, the influence he had and part of the reason we have been so successful in reaching agreement in Northern Ireland is because of the personal contacts of the Taoiseach and his interaction with individuals, which was apparent on the visit especially with Ms Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives. This relationship is only one of a number the Taoiseach has been able to cultivate and which have been invaluable to Ireland.

I was unaware of the illness to the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy Séamus Brennan, and was disappointed to hear of it. As Senator Ó Murchú said, he has been very efficient and competent in the roles he has undertaken, but he also has a great sense of humour. There were at least three occasions when I spoke to introduce him and he said that he always liked to speak after me as it was not necessary to lower the microphone.

Will the Leader draw to the attention of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, whoever he or she will be, the concerns of relatives of missing children, especially those in Europe? I am aware of one instance where the relatives of one missing child in a European country found that the Schengen information system was not in operation. This is a system set up by the police forces of the various countries and when someone is sought, either a missing person or a criminal, the information is passed to all the other police forces covered by the Schengen information system. I know of one case where this information was not passed on. If we allow one child to slip through the net, there may be others. I do not know how the system works but the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform should take an interest in this matter to ensure that the Schengen information system between the police forces is in operation to ensure we do not have a situation where children continue to go missing.