Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is no-one here from DCU. Senator Alice-Mary Higgins made a reference to the 1979 referendum. I am confident we will get there.

I want to go back to the comments made about the issue of decorum and listening. Senator O'Donnell makes a very good point because at the risk of sounding pompous - which I am not - there are Senators who come in here to the Order of Business and they then skidaddle before they get a reply. To be fair some of them apologise for leaving. If we are to be honest some of the Members of the house do not want to listen at all. Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell is correct in that regard. I appeal to all Senators to take a reflective pause in some of the contributions. There are some very fine contributions made from across the House by Senators who deserve to be listened to.

In the past the Cathaoirleach has spoken about the use of mobile phones and other devices in the Chamber. I use mine to get information so I can reply to the Order of Business, but it is a good point and may be a matter for the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.

Senator McDowell spoke of the situation in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a huge crisis and a humanitarian issue. I am very proud of the men and women of the Naval Service who have saved thousands of lives in the region. There is a moral duty on all governments to act collectively in trying to end this nightmare in the Mediterranean Sea. If one speaks with members of the Naval Service who have come home they will speak of the horror of the nightmare they have endured and of the terror they have seen. I commend these men and women for the work they do. The point was made by Senator McDowell that we need to have a real debate on it and I would hope this could happen in the new Seanad term.

Senator Conway-Walsh spoke of the issues around group water schemes and the work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. It is an example of how a Senator in this House, Senator Ó Céidigh in this case, can be praised for chairing this committee. Just in case the Sinn Féin Senators did not know, the Government invests millions of euro on a multi-annual basis in group water schemes. Last year it was nearly €15 million, which was an increase of 30% on 2015. Of course we do not hear about this from Sinn Féin because it is good news and they do not want to hear that. There is a philosophical question around investment in water. In his contribution, Senator Lombard said that in parts of Cork there is a 90% decrease and in some parts of Carrigaline there may be no water in ten days' time. We must invest in our water infrastructure. The Sinn Féin Party does not recognise that this money does not fall off the trees. It must come from somewhere. This Government and the last government made a decision to invest in water.

I would ask the Sinn Féin Senators to reflect on the role their colleagues played in the Assembly in Northern Ireland in this regard, how they pay for water in the North and how they allocated money for that. We have seen investment in group water schemes and the former minister, Phil Hogan brought in the grant for the inspection of sewerage systems to ensure the water table is of pristine quality. I commend the men and women who work in and administer group water schemes. For a generation they have, on a voluntary basis in many cases, done Trojan work in rural Ireland providing water. We must ensure that the multi-annual funding by Government of group water schemes continues. The expert group that was set up by then Minister, Deputy Coveney, allows for places such as Galway and Mayo, and other parts of the State, to have group water schemes set up and we must see this continue. The Government must prioritise this issue because we cannot-----