Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----that is going to take us from here to the moon and back. We only have a certain amount of money and we must spend it in a way that does not bring us back to the bad old days of the past.

Senator Mullen also referred to Aung San Suu Kyi and he has made a very good point that she needs to show leadership. The world stood with her and recognised her importance. The Senator is right that she is probably the best hope that we have. I would be happy to invite the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to address that issue.

I join with Senator Warfield in welcoming the debate on and the need for a national AIDS memorial. We all know too many friends who passed away in those circumstances. Those people should not be forgotten. The Senator referred to New York and Toronto. I would be happy to join him and other Senators in any way we can to bring that memorial forward. The increase in the number of people with HIV and AIDS in our country is a concern. The former Minister for Health, now Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, was about to engage in a whole strategy relaunch for the national AIDS strategy and I hope that we can do that. Today is a poignant day and we congratulate those involved for the work they do to prevent HIV and to educate people.

I withdraw the Government amendment on the Order Paper and we will resubmit it next week.