Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator Norris has just given me a nice segue into what I was going to say next, which was that, of course, we will later this year have the very welcome visit of President Michael D. Higgins to Britain, if I may say that, to meet with the Head of State there. We will, of course, be having ongoing and very close relations with the British authorities. Nonetheless, there is an emphasis this year on business with North America, which is very welcome, as other colleagues have mentioned.

Senator Cullinane spoke on the Rehab issue, which I have covered. Senator Quinn raised the need for a debate on the Disability Federation of Ireland document, which I am not aware of, and I will certainly ask the Leader to arrange that debate. He also raised the important issue of the quality of milk. We might have the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the House for a combined debate on dairy and beef farming. The Senator raised a very real concern about the increased use of antibiotics and the detrimental effect that can have on milk quality.

Senator Brennan raised the issue of social welfare payments being handed to banks and the closure of post offices. He called for a debate on post offices with the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte.

As I said earlier, Senator Ó Murchú raised the issue of the St. Patrick's Day visits programme by Ministers and he also spoke about the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. We all welcome the fact a very full programme will be launched this Thursday by the St. Patrick's Day committee, which will be setting out the full programme for the cultural and family-friendly activities that will be taking place all across Dublin. It is a national festival that is taking place in the capital city and, of course, there will be lots of parades and other events taking place around the country.

The answer to concerns people have raised about the way in which the parade and the other festivities are run is not to close down funfairs or family-friendly activities but to ensure that we control and regulate anti-social behaviour. To my mind, it is largely the excessive consumption of alcohol which has been real cause of criticism in the past, and that is not the fault of the St. Patrick's Day festival organisers. I believe we will see a really excellent programme launched this Thursday and I look forward to that, as I am sure others do.

Senator Noone raised the issue of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations and also paid tribute to the late Patrick Scott. I am glad the Senator raised that issue because it was extremely poignant that he died just before the opening this week of the big retrospective exhibition of his work in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which promises to be a great exhibition. It is very sad that he will not be here to see it. He was a hugely important artist for Ireland and it was very nice to see all the tributes paid to him over the weekend.

Senator Moran raised the issue of Rehab, which I have dealt with, and also the RTE programme on intellectual disability. We will look for a debate on that in light of what she and Senator Zappone said.