Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

Whoever represents the Senator was at that meeting. The Senator must have somebody representing him. Ample time is being afforded to Senators to discuss the Electoral (Amendment) Bill.

With regard to the request for the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, to come before the House, we will try to have him in early in September. We have had the Ministers of State, Deputies Kathleen Lynch and Róisín Shortall, who are excellent junior Ministers in the Department and quite capable of taking any matter with regard to health. I compliment them on their performances in the House and the amount of time they have given to the Seanad.

Senator Bacik spoke about strengthening the powers of committees, and about media ownership and the fallout of the telephone hacking scandal in the UK. This is certainly something that needs attention here, and we can arrange a debate on the issue some time in the autumn. Senators van Turnhout, Mullins and others called for a debate on the safety and welfare of children. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, has agreed to come to the House to discuss the recommendations of the Murphy report and others. I am sure we can arrange that at an early opportunity. The Minister will be coming to the House tomorrow after 7 p.m. to discuss the Child Care (Amendment) Bill. She will be here for a considerable time and I am sure there are many items with regard to the Bill that Senators would like to raise with her.

Senators Quinn, Conway, Coghlan and others spoke about the takeover of Superquinn by the Musgrave group. I am sure we all welcome the fact that more than 2,500 jobs will be protected as a result of this takeover. Senator Quinn has raised in the House on several occasions the issue of the purchasing policies of retailers. I accept his concerns about the Minister's intentions in that regard and I hope the Minister will address these matters.

Senators Burke and Walsh spoke about the cost of tribunals and the amount of time they take. I hope the increased powers for committees that are envisaged by the Oireachtas will negate the necessity for tribunals in the future. The expense is, from my point of view, totally immoral. I agree with Senator Walsh that waste will need to be tackled across all Departments; this is taking place at present, and I hope we have support from the other side of the House in this regard.

Senator Healy Eames spoke about the extension of the remit of pharmacists to administer 'flu vaccinations and wondered whether this could be extended further to include the BCG vaccine. She should contact the Minister in this regard.

I agree that we should have a further debate on tourism, particularly with regard to the home market. Of course, the Galway Races is a big event and if Members wish to go to them, they will have four days next week to do so. We hope to finish our business on either Tuesday or Wednesday next week, so there will be another four days of racing if they wish to travel to Galway.