Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

It was enlightening to see many former Members. I recall many famous ladies from all sides of the House who have passed on to their eternal rewards. I congratulate and wish well all those who made this historic occasion possible. It was a terrific day for former and current Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas. I look forward to many more occasions during which we can all celebrate our membership of both Houses of the Oireachtas, Dáil and Seanad.

Senators called for a debate on climate change. I have already given a commitment in respect of such a debate. Senators O'Toole, Coghlan and Buttimer asked about comments on the Order of Business in respect of items returning from committee. I wish to inform the House that I have no difficulty leaving aside a short amount of time to allow a Senator to comment on a matter returning from committee. The difficulty that arises is that I send out the Order of Business on a Thursday in respect of the following Tuesday and very often committees do not meet until Tuesday or Wednesday. In my opinion, the most important issues that arise in this regard relate to EU scrutiny, which is a serious challenge for Members of the Oireachtas and for committees. I propose, subject to agreement with the other leaders next Tuesday, that where an issue arises at a committee meeting on a Wednesday morning on which a Member of the Seanad wishes to make a point, if such Member contacts their leader or my office by early afternoon on Wednesday, I will allocate 30 minutes for that matter to be discussed the following morning, if that is in order. I agree with the sentiments expressed by various Members in that regard.

On the call for a debate on education, I contacted the Minister's office yesterday and am awaiting word on the matter. I will report to the House tomorrow morning on whether it is possible to make time available next week for such a debate, bearing in mind the Minister's diary and this House's schedule for next week, which is an unbelievable sight in terms of the amount of work before us and the late sittings required to facilitate that.