Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is very aware of what happens in the House and the progress of different items of legislation. I am mindful of the fact that the Seanad reform committee is due to complete its work on 11 December or thereabouts; therefore, it might be premature to have him come to the House before then, but that is my personal opinion. It might be more appropriate to invite him to come here after the report has been published, but he is very much aware of the request made. I have spoken to him on a number of occasions and he is keen to return. Senator Boyhan is well aware that we have a pressing number of items of legislation to be completed before the Christmas break, but we will see if the Taoiseach's diary allows him to come before then. If he does not come before Christmas, we will certainly have the debate with him in the new year.

I do not have information to hand on the progress of the report on local government. Although we have had a number of debates on local government, I am happy to invite the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Phelan, to come to the House for a further debate on the matter. As Senators are aware, councillors retire all of the time, not just in this cycle. There have always been renewals, replacements and retirements. We wish all of those who will announce their retirement well and those who will contest the next elections every success.

I commend Senator Humphreys on his work as part of the all-party Oireachtas group on Alzheimer's disease and dementia. We need to invest more and conduct further research into ways to combat such extraordinary illnesses. I very much welcome the establishment of the all-party group, members of which tabled a Commencement matter on 21 November to highlight the issue of dementia. I am happy to invite the Minister for Health to come to the House to discuss it. The Senator is right that we need to have an ongoing debate and investment.

Senator Colm Burke made reference to a Supreme Court decision and called on us to reflect on it. The judgment and the decision are interesting and the Senator rightly made reference to the victim. We need to debate the matter. I am happy to invite the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to the House to debate it.

Senator Leyden referred to Irish Rail. I am happy to invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come to the House to discuss the matter. The Senator articulated his excellent idea about publicising and advertising local towns in train stations.

Senator Warfield mentioned World AIDS Day, which is not a celebratory but a commemorative event, as well as the need to increase the visibility of the issue of HIV-AIDS. He made that point that an increase of 8.7% in the rate of transmission of HIV was far too high. We did make some progress in combating the problem, but we are moving in the wrong direction again. As the Senator knows, I am very supportive of the idea of having an Irish AIDS memorial which we will achieve through collaboration and working together. He is right - it is important to remember and commemorate those who have died. Yesterday, I think, was the anniversary of the death of Vincent Hanley. We all know of people who are living with HIV-AIDS and who died from it. We have come a long way as a society. The Senator made the point that we needed to improve sex education and the sexual health strategy. We do need to be more proactive in that regard. We have made some changes in how sex education is taught in schools, but a lot of work remains to be done. I will be happy to work with the Senator on the matter.

Senator Davitt referred to the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the investigation carried out by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. He made valid points about restaurants that took bookings. Some do not charge a booking fee but some do. What happens if people do not arrive? The restaurant loses revenue as a result of a table not available to other customers. The Committee of Public Accounts or the line committee would be the best choice to debate the issue. If the Senator was to table a Commencement matter, he might receive a full response on it from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Senator Richmond mentioned that the European Commission had announced the rolling out of the second phase of the DiscoverEU inter-rail ticket project. I am happy to invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come to the House to outline the number of Irish students who have been awarded tickets.

Senator Butler referred to the decision made by An Bord Pleanála on the application of the Church of Scientology for planning permission for a centre at Ballivor, County Meath. His points were well made.

I have answered the point made by Senator Bacik.