Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leader for setting out the Order of Business and concur with other Senators on the revision to the schedule that has been made. The replacement of the debate on defence issues is important.

I look forward to the debate on Fine Gael's Private Members' motion on young people. It is a thought-provoking issue. All is not well in that area and I look forward to setting out a number of issues and sharing some information in respect of the Ombudsman for Children. I also welcome the debate on the Affordable Housing Bill 2021, which will be critical.

I call for a debate on dying, death and bereavement. Senators might recall that the final event in this House of the then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, was to launch an amazing body of work, Finite Lives, by the former Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell. It was the biggest event I have experienced in my five years in the House. It was packed and there was much anticipation, about both Mr. Kenny's future and, more important, the issue at hand. The then Taoiseach told me he had chosen to make it his final official launch in the Houses of the Oireachtas. The report is a substantial body of work that raises many issues. We have all been touched by loved ones who have passed away. The report received a very significant endorsement from the Irish Hospice Foundation. Let us not reinvent the wheel but rather dust down this substantial work. It makes 16 substantial recommendations. I ask that at some point in the schedule, we make time for a debate on the content and recommendations of the report.