Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

On behalf of the Labour group, I also welcome that two senior Ministers will come to the House to discuss the legislation. It is recognition that the Seanad is a place where important legislation can be discussed and two Ministers can join together to contribute to that debate.

It is with some sadness that the words "Catholic Church" and "child abuse" are in the lips of many. It is sad on the part of those victims who now find themselves back in the centre of a story that has unfortunately persisted for too long. There is sadness for the families and for the church, and there is also some anger. I find it ironic that the church has stated that no State or church guidelines for responding to allegations of child abuse existed in Ireland in 1975 and yet a young man, Brendan Boland, knew enough in 1975 to be able to report the things that were wrong. He was not a priest, had not been trained and had not been to university but he understood something was wrong. He was the one who was ignored. I find the irony at the heart of that extraordinary and I echo the calls from the One in Four group for Cardinal Brady to make a proper response to the allegations made in the BBC programme at this time.

I ask the Leader to write to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine regarding the payment for those on the AEOS 2 scheme. The scheme closed in May 2011 and there were 6,500 successful applicants. This money is given to farmers for the halting of the loss of biodiversity, improving water quality and combatting climate change, which we all agree are very important. I had understood the payments would be made by Christmas. I was further told that payments would be made by Easter, yet this week I have received phone calls from people asking where the payments are. I wish the Leader to ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine why the AEOS 2 payments continue to be delayed.

I am a co-convenor of the mental health cross-party committee. Tomorrow we will join in the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland tea party day - if Senators will excuse the expression - in order to raise money and awareness of Alzheimer's disease here in Leinster House. As people will know it is the most common form of dementia in Ireland and the number suffering from the disease is predicted to rise to 104,000 by 2036. The Alzheimer's Society of Ireland does much work in providing support for families, carers and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. That event, sponsored by the mental health group will take place between 10 o'clock and noon.

I ask the Leader to drop a line to Glen Hansard congratulating him on the 11 Tony Award nominations for his very successful Broadway play, Once. It is something bright and good news. It is evidence of Glen Hansard's extraordinary perseverance over a long period of time. Even though he thought he would never make it, here he is being recognised for the second if not the third time as reward for his hard work.