Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the Report on Programme to Review and Enhance Fire Safety in Local Authority Provided Traveller Accommodation, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to conclude no later than 2 p.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed four minutes and with the Minister to be called upon to reply no later than 1.55 p.m.; No. 2, Private Members' Business, Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016 - Second Stage, to be taken at 2 p.m., with time allocated for this debate not to exceed two hours; and Private Members' business - No. 20, item 8 - to be taken at 4 p.m. and the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leader for outlining the Order of Business. The Irish health system is pockmarked by the failures of the service itself and of politicians in terms of devising systems that do not work. In 2013, we highlighted that in the House with the recall of the Seanad to discuss organ donation. In one calendar year, 65 people on our organ donor waiting lists will die. Currently, there are 650 people waiting for liver, lung and heart transplants, of whom one in ten will die waiting. Other countries have systems that work to the point where they actually have an excess of donated organs. It has nothing to do with the generosity of the Irish people; it is simply a systems failure. Not only that, if we improved our system, it would save the taxpayer money. As the Leader knows, the cost of dialysis over a ten-year period is almost €325 million. Every organ transplant put in place would save money.

The issue I raise specifically today relates to the Orkambi drug therapy for cystic fibrosis. The genetic profile of the Irish population means that Ireland has the highest rate in the western world of people who suffer with cystic fibrosis and who carry the gene which leads to that condition. Orkambi has transformed lives. There are a number of people who are on a trial of this drug therapy and the Government is carrying out a review of that. The cystic fibrosis website has welcomed the review, which is the second or third so far. Not all of the 500 cystic fibrosis sufferers in Ireland will benefit from the therapy, but it appears that the majority will. Research from the British Management Institute has outlined that every report commissioned by a Government Department over 20 years has ended up agreeing with that Department's initial viewpoint. It is the case that he who pays the piper calls the tune. We are not, therefore, hopeful about the outcome of the Orkambi review. We realise the drug is expensive. Everybody understands that. However, the transformation in the lives of those who benefit from it is enormous.

I ask the Leader to find an answer to the question. We have had debates on this in the House. The former Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, attended the House to discuss the review. Meanwhile, people are suffering because they are not being given access to Orkambi and it is not made available more widely. I ask the Leader to organise an answer to the question in regard to Orkambi and to indicate when it will be available to those who will benefit from it.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I concur with Senator Mark Daly's remarks on organ donation, which is very important. There are two other items. This afternoon, we will have a Private Members' debate on the judicial council. The Leader might indicate if he is aware at this stage whether the Minister intends to be here or if it will be the Minister of State. He may not be in a position to tell me but it would be helpful if we had some indication as to whether the Minister will be here.

An issue that was covered in all national media today relates to a story that the Department of Health recommended to the Government in a memo, some of the contents of which were published in national newspapers this morning, that it not agree to sanction an additional payment for the approximately 4,000 people who work overnight in care centres with vulnerable children and adults. These are qualified staff who must stay overnight due to the type of work they doing, in some cases in 24 hour shifts. Some of them are on duty for seven days but there are broken shifts. Prior to 2004, most of these people were receiving no remuneration because they were sleeping on the premises at night, which was considered inactive activity. They are key, trained care workers. There are issues here of child safety and health and safety more generally. There are a range of reasons for which people must stay overnight, supervise and be there for vulnerable people who are in their charge. It is very disappointing to read in our national newspapers this morning the suggestion that the Department of Health should write to the Government to ask it to hold back. They are on a basic, minimum wage, from €9.15 to €9.25 per hour.

Clearly, the Leader will not know the detail of this.It is something we should look at. We should draw attention to today's media comments on it, have a look at that and maybe ask the Minister when he is next in the House to touch on this area.

Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein)
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I wanted to talk about another issue this morning but I have just come from a briefing by the Department of Social Protection about JobPath. I have very many concerns about this. My first concern is that in the west, the provision is made by the private company Seetec. I have nothing against Seetec, but it is a company that is based in Essex in the UK. One of my questions to the Department of Social Protection is if we had a choice in the matter of social welfare and job activation being privatised or was it an instruction from the EU? I believe our Government had a choice in the matter. It is basically saying that the local employment services, LES, and Intreo were not able to do their job and did not have the resources to do their job properly. Now we have privatised the whole area of social protection.

My other question is around how much would people be paid. For example, if somebody living in Belmullet is taken randomly off the social welfare list and is instructed to take up a position which may be up to one hour away in Castlebar or in Ballina, they do not have a choice the in matter. The only payment they would be given is to keep the social welfare payment. How much would that person then be given in travel allowance? It says there are travel supports available but there are no set out travel costs available. If a person is required to travel for up to one hour to a position, if they do not have the option of public transport then they have the cost of getting a car and insurance, including meeting the rising cost of motor insurance. It is grossly unfair to do that and will end of costing people.

It is also said that there are supports for child care costs but again there is ambiguity around that and how much people would get for child care. If it is decided to grant a child care allowance to them can that be given to a relative or to somebody who is a non-registered childminder? Again, there is no answer to that and it is at the discretion of the Department of Social Protection. I asked the Department if the person concerned has mental health difficulties will the Department accept a letter from a mental health practitioner or a GP to say that this person is not fit to travel or to take up that position? Again, I could not get any answers to that.

I am gravely concerned about the destruction being caused to people who are being forced onto these schemes just to take them off social welfare and to massage the figures so that the Government can say that another person has been taken off social welfare or that they have been put on a boat or a plane and are no longer our responsibility. It is a matter of urgency. I ask the Leader to bring the Minister for Social Protection to the House to answer some of those questions. There are already dozens of complaints lodged about JobPath. Of course it is not only JobPath, it is also about many other schemes into which people are being forced or about their payments being cut completely, which is the nub of the problem. People are then dependent on St. Vincent de Paul to provide a roof over their head or to provide them with food for the week. It is wrong.

Colette Kelleher (Independent)
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I call for a debate in the House on Ireland's response to the Syrian crisis and in particular our plans to help the child refugees who are fleeing Syria alone. This issue has been raised by other Members of the House, including by Senator Ray Butler last week. Night after night on television we watch helplessly the heartache of ordinary people. These people are like us and we wonder what we can do. There is something we agreed to do this time last year. Ireland agreed to take 4,000 refugees in the wake of what has been the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. In establishing the Irish refugee protection programme, The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald highlighted the plight of unaccompanied children and she promised that special arrangements would be put in place to help these children.

However, in the year to 19 September, despite the promised special effort, Ireland has only accepted one child according to the Ombudsman for Children. The Irish Timesreported recently that Ireland has agreed to accept a further 20 children by the end of 2016. Over 109 unaccompanied children have applied for asylum in the EU since the beginning of 2015. We can do so much better than helping just 21 children. Given Ireland's painful history with emigration and famine, it is so disappointing that we have not stepped up to the mark.

The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald said in the Dáil last year, "Ireland has always lived up to its international humanitarian obligations" and that the Government is fully committed to playing its part in addressing the current crisis. We need urgent action to live up to this promise, especially for vulnerable children. I would be grateful if the Leader could invite the Minister to the House to lay out her plans as to when we will reach the 4,000 target for refugees and our involvement in measures to support unaccompanied minors across Europe, particularly the children in Calais, and to explain why Ireland has not helped more children. We can, and we must, do so much better than we have to date to help the ordinary citizens and children of Aleppo and Syria who are caught in a living hell.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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Over the last number of years Ireland has enjoyed some level of relative industrial peace. At this stage, however, we have reached a grave situation. We are facing strike action by second-level teachers and by An Garda Síochána. Today's advertisement in the national newspapers seeking members of the public to go in to schools to perform supervision and substitution work is, at best misguided and at worst it completely misunderstands the nature of schools and how they operate. Yesterday the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, thought it was a good idea to say that the public would never view members of An Garda Síochána the same way again if they were to go on strike. That is an outrageous statement. It is clear that this Government, and in particular Fine Gael, has no comprehension as to how industrial relations work or how best to deal with trade unions or the public sector in general.

I suggest to the Leader that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, should be invited to the House to discuss his announcements in the budget of a public pay commission to report by next summer. Surely we must realise that the situation in which we find ourselves is grave, that schools will close and that gardaí will not be on the streets. The response from Government seems to be a complete misunderstanding of the sensitivities involved, of the public sector and of how to deal with industrial relations. The response has been a "face them down" attitude which is not going to work. What the House does not need is any more hyperbole so I ask the Cathaoirleach and the Leader to respectfully request the Minister to attend to the matter to overcome the situation where our schools are going to close down and where gardaí are not on the street. If that was to happen in any other European member state, the assumption would be that their Government had completely lost control of the situation.

I ask that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform come to the House to expand on his one line statement in the Budget Statement as to what is his vision for the public sector. It might contribute to a conversation on how we might avoid the situation of our schools closing, of gardaí not being on the street and of bitterness and rancour being in our schools and in our police force for years to come.

If the Government's tone is to continue along the line of what the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar said yesterday, then I would worry that the situation would completely unravel

Ray Butler (Fine Gael)
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I support Senator Kelleher's request that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality should come to the House to speak on the refugee situation.

I thank all the Senators here this morning who sent e-mails after I spoke about Aleppo last week. I wrote to the ambassador and have received a response that reads:

Dear Senator Mr. Butler,

Thank you for your letter. It is very interesting to know your point of view on the current situation in Aleppo. Unfortunately, I am afraid that your acquaintance with facts of what [is] going on in Syria ... and in Aleppo [is] particularly ... far from objectivity. I dare say that you use one-sided and preconceived information widely spread in ... Western mass media.

If you are interested in getting alternative point of view I would be ready to talk to you.

Sincerely,

AMBASSADOR ... PESHKOV.

I welcome the ceasefire that was called this morning. I do not think any of us in here have been brainwashed by western media when we see what has gone on in Aleppo. We know that atrocities have been perpetrated by all sides from barrel bombs to suicide bombers. What we have seen in the past couple of weeks is nothing but the slaughter of innocents. Women and children have been slaughtered. The other night on television we saw a young man being dragged out of a building but he was just a child or young boy. I do not need a Russian ambassador to tell me that I have been brainwashed or any of us in here have been brainwashed. We want the ceasefire to happen and we want women and children taken out of the city, given safe passage and looked after properly.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I compliment Senator Butler on his initiative in that regard because it is important that the Seanad's voice is heard at home and abroad.

The position of the Seanad is very important. Two weeks ago I raised an issue with the Leader of the House, tabled a Commencement matter and it has been resolved. Sometimes people do not realise the effectiveness of the Seanad. In fact, I have been a Deputy for more years than I have been a Senator so I know that it is as effective to make representations as a Senator as it was when I was a Deputy.

To allay fears, I have had an opportunity to look at the Ceramics Room in the National Museum of Ireland and found it to be an ideal location for the Seanad. The Senators and the Daily Mailshould fear not because the building is ideal for the Seanad. It links into Leinster House on the right-hand side and was part of the RDS complex at one stage. As far as education purposes are concerned, when I visited the room in July nothing was happening so I do not know what Dr. Pat Wallace, who has retired from the National Museum, meant. There will be plenty of opportunities on Mondays, Fridays and weekends to use the facility for lectures, which would be in beautiful surroundings with the furniture from this room. I disagree with the idea of relocating the Seanad outside of the capital because everyone works here as part of a team with public servants, civil servants and more. Therefore, we cannot afford that kind of relocation.

In respect of reform, the Seanad is working very well and if it is not broken then do not fix it. I was one of the Senators who was in this House when people voted to retain the Seanad. They voted because to my mind, it is and has been a very effective body. Let me explain. I recall that the leader of the Irish delegation to the Council of Europe is Senator Joe O'Reilly. Many of the members of the Council of Europe attended a meeting last week but members of the Dáil were unable to attend due to the budget. At the meeting I put a question to President Hollande on the Brexit situation and got a positive response. I am also Vice Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. This House serves a useful purpose as it is and through the Cathaoirleach, previous Cathaoirligh and previous Leaders it has built up an even stronger reputation than ever before.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator is testing my indulgence.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I know but what I have said is music to the Cathaoirleach's ears as well, if he does not mind me saying so. I have praised the House that the Cathaoirleach presides over.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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We must carry on our work. If anyone in the media wants a Senator with the opposite view then I say to all of the Senators, whether it is Senator McDowell or any other Senator, or even Dr. Maurice Manning or former Senator Joe O'Toole with their reports, as far as I am concerned we should work with what we have, make it effective, more effective and a voice for the people of this country.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator's comments on many issues will be noted. I call Senator Ó Donnghaile.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Many small businesses were lost during the downturn. It would be great to have a system where a lot of those people could re-enter the economy because they are badly needed. Small businesses, in particular, will face a daunting task due to Brexit. I appeal to the Leader to invite the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, to come in here for a debate on providing more funding to local enterprise offices, LEOs. She did secure extra funding for LEOs in this budget but more funding is required. LEOs can help to create start-up small businesses. They could act as a lifeblood and be the first port of call in local authorities for small businesses. LEOs can provide guidance and funding to get many small businesses off the ground. Such an initiative will play an important part in the future. We need small business enterprises in this country now more than ever. Small businesses will find things more difficult now than ever before, especially with Brexit. I can see a situation where small businesses will strive but will encounter a difficult period if Brexit comes to pass in 2019.Will the Leader request the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to come to the House to discuss the small business sector and sources of additional funding for local enterprise offices?

Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail)
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One image or storyline often defines a conflict or tragedy. For example, we often think of the iconic image of nine year old Kim Phuc, the girl pictured naked as she fled horrific violence in south Vietnam in 1972. In the midst of the carnage and the suffering she experienced as a result of severe burns on her back, there can seem to be no hope at times. Seventeen surgical procedures were performed during her 14-month stay in hospital. She survived and today lives with her husband and two children in Toronto. She also established the KIM Foundation in the United States, with the aim of providing medical and psychological assistance for children of war.

Much closer to home, we have seen the images of a three year old Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, who perished in the Mediterranean and was washed ashore in Turkey in September 2015. As a father of a young boy, these images had a profound impact on me. In the midst of the terror being experienced by fleeing Syrian refugees, one heart warming story brought a smile to my face. Ahmed Soda, an 11 year old Syrian refugee, recently helped Patrick Sarsfields GAA Club win its first Antrim juvenile hurling title in many years. Ahmed and his family who are originally from Aleppo arrived in Belfast last December.

The crisis in Syria, specifically the humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo, has been mentioned by many Senators. Last week, for example, the issue was raised by Senator Ray Butler. The Fianna Fáil Party spokesman in the Dáil, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has been forthright in his condemnation of recent attacks on United Nations and Red Crescent convoys. I echo this condemnation and despair when I see media reports of medical and United Nations facilities being targeted and destroyed. In this context, I wholeheartedly support the comments of the Taoiseach who wants Ireland to introduce a Naval Service hospital ship to deal with global emergencies. It is perhaps fitting that he made this pronouncement earlier this week while launching a new Naval Service patrol vessel, the LE William Butler Yeats, named after a former Senator who served in the House in the 1920s. The introduction of a Naval Service hospital ship to deal with global emergencies would be a practical response to ongoing humanitarian catastrophes throughout the world.

The incredible work of the Naval Service and the crews of the LE James Joyce, LE Róisín, LE Eithne, LE Niamhand LE Samuel Beckett is an inspiration to us all. The trauma Naval Service officers will have encountered is hard to comprehend. As a medic working on the west coast, I regularly liaise closely with the Irish Coast Guard and experience at first hand its members' bravery and commitment to serving the public while putting their lives in danger. They face danger on every call-out. The crews of Naval Service vessels working in the Mediterranean deal with hundreds of traumatic scenarios daily.

The image of young Ahmed Soda with his hurley among friends in west Belfast provides an important counter-balance to the awfulness unfolding in his home city and country. This is what we must all focus on as we recommit to Ireland playing its part in dealing with the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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This afternoon the Union of Students of Ireland, USI, will hold a demonstration which will move from the Garden of Remembrance to Merrion Square to highlight students' objection to any prospect of a "study now, pay later" model being introduced for third level education. The demonstration is a response to the Cassels report published earlier this year which suggested that one possible solution to third level funding problems would be the introduction of an income contingent loan scheme. Such a scheme would effectively mean hiking fees up to €5,000 per annum, thereby leaving students with debts of up to €25,000 on graduation. This figure does not take into consideration the cost of accommodation and living expenses incurred during four years of study. Third level education is already a two-tier system in which some can afford to go to college, while others are forced to miss out, emigrate or enter low paid employment. An income contingent loan scheme would exacerbate existing inequalities in the third level education system. Those who would find the money to afford such a scheme would become members of a generation of young people who would have an education mortgage hanging from around their necks. Such a scheme would condition young people to take the first job that came along, regardless of whether it paid low wages or had poor working conditions, all of which would result in young workers undervaluing their worth in the labour force.

It is great that the Union of Students of Ireland has organised today's march and good that it has the support of SIPTU, IMPACT, the TUI, the National Youth Council of Ireland and Sinn Féin Republican Youth. This issue goes to the heart of the ideological difference between the parties. We know that the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, is very much in the neoliberal wing of the Fine Gael Party and chomping at the bit to introduce a student loan scheme, whereas those of us on the left believe in building equality into the education system. I call on the Leader to ask the Minister back to the House for a decent debate on the proposed loan system in order that we can find out where each of the parties stands on the matter.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I agree with previous speakers on the wording used when dealing with ongoing industrial relations disputes. There appears to be a media view that if a demand is made, the Government must be in a position to pay. There is no significant debate in the media on the fact that it is the taxpayer rather than the Government who must pay increased costs in the public service. We must be careful about how we report matters. Additional gardaí have been recruited and trained and the Government has made a commitment to recruit more. It should be noted that the Garda Training College in Templemore was closed by the Government in 2010-11. It has also given a commitment to recruit an additional 2,400 teachers. It is allocating funding for Garda and teacher recruitment. It is important to realise that it is taxpayers who are providing the additional moneys required to do so. Balanced debate is needed and we must set out clearly that a substantial increase in the cost of providing services requires an increase in taxation.

More than two years ago I raised the issue of access officers in local authorities. Each local authority is supposed to have an access officer. I find the interpretation of the role of access officer strange as it varies significantly from one local authority to another. Some view the role of access officer as one of ensuring access to public buildings for people with disabilities, while others view it as one of ensuring people with disabilities can access various services and meeting the requirement to adapt inadequate housing accommodation for people with disabilities. The relevant Minister must come to the House to set out clearly what is the role of access officers. If the legislation which requires local authorities to provide an access officer is inadequate, we must introduce amending legislation. We are falling down in this area and should stop passing the buck. The cost of addressing the problem would not be significant. The Minister must come to the House and local authorities must respond accordingly.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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It has been brought to my attention that sick children in Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin are being served sugar-laden foods as part of their diet while in hospital. Moreover, the person who brought the matter to my attention, a woman whose child is in hospital, could not find anything healthy to eat in the hospital shop or vending machines on the hospital site. This is shocking as it contravenes recommendations from international health organisations that babies and children under two years should have as close as possible to a zero sugar intake. According to a prominent study by the American Heart Association, there is strong evidence to support the association of added sugars with an increased cardiovascular disease risk in children. Research has also shown that adding sugar to a baby's food increases sweet cravings and instils a sugar dependency at a young age. As the baby grows, he or she will eat sugary foods ahead of others, leading to obesity and many other illnesses.High sugar in baby food also significantly increases the risk of tooth decay in babies. It is a very depressing thing to think of a child having to have his or her milk teeth removed because of a sugary diet. Obviously, it naturally increases the incidence of obesity and diabetes in future years. When it comes to Crumlin children's hospital, the irony of it is that sick children are being served disease-inducing sugary foods in a State health facility while a large sugar awareness poster is hanging in its corridors. It is all well and good to announce that we are going to have healthy eating and a healthy approach in our hospitals. However, that is very superficial if we are actually going to serve pasta with sugary tomato sauce on it to our children while they are sick in hospital.

I want us to have a meaningful debate in this House on childhood obesity with a particular emphasis on this area. If it needs to be a debate on obesity generally, that is fine, but a debate on childhood obesity is long overdue. I would really welcome it if the Leader could ask the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, to come to the House and tell us what is happening as regards the announcement he made last year, which I welcome and commend, that we would try to instil healthy eating in our hospitals. This does not seem to be happening. Pasta with Dolmio sauce or one of these sugary sauces on it is simply not good enough for children who are sick.

Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)
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There have been very sinister happenings over the last few years, which I do not think people fully recognise, and I do not know how we can deal with them. I refer to football hooliganism at League of Ireland matches. Very small crowds are going to these matches. I read that last weekend that casuals from Bury and Wrexham were siding with Shamrock Rovers supporters and fighting Bohemians supporters. This has been going on for quite a while and it is something I raised before. I am very concerned that public safety could be at risk. The Garda has to deal with maybe 50 or 100 fans fighting with one another. It does not happen at Gaelic football matches. I was a League of Ireland supporter and a Republic of Ireland supporter 30 years ago and this is a worrying trend. I would like to find out what exactly it is costing to police these events. Casuals are coming here from Wrexham and Bury and it appears they are siding with Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians or otherwise. These are not the tourists we want. We need to have a debate and to look at legislation on banning orders. I believe one senior member of the Garda said there is nothing that he can do. There are no banning orders to stop somebody who is intent on causing mayhem and trouble and throwing bottles from attending these matches. I am concerned that it is an issue we are allowing to go under the radar. We have a great reputation as Republic of Ireland supporters and GAA supporters. This is a tiny minority who seem to have a voice. They must be stopped and we should have a debate on the issue.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the 14 Senators who contributed to the Order of Business. I completely agree with Senator Daly on the need to transform the organ donation infrastructure in our country. The committee I chaired in the last Oireachtas completed a comprehensive report on organ donation and, in particular, on the need to change the model to a soft opt-out system. That is part of the difficulty, and the Senator is right. Advertising, or awareness raising, in itself, will not create the need for people to give organ donations. There needs to be a change in infrastructure around the whole issue of dialysis in our hospitals. The retirement of Dr. David Hickey has highlighted the vacuum that exists. There is a need for consensus and buy-in from all sides with regard to organ donation. As somebody who, when in college, worked in a dialysis unit in Cork University Hospital, I saw first hand the importance of it. I saw the whole range of emotion and trauma around organ donation and dialysis. The Senator is right that we need to have a completely different system and change of approach. I hope we can work to do that.

Senator Daly referred to Orkambi and he knows quite well that the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and the HSE make the decision. I am told the HSE is in negotiations with the manufacturer of the drug to reduce the cost, particularly for cystic fibrosis patients. I agree with the Senator completely. We must look at ways in which we can make medication and life-changing or life-altering drugs available to people. Whether they are high-tech or high-cost, it is immaterial. It is about the preservation of life and the quality of life that we can give to people, such as the people the Senator referred to. We have already done so with some of the cystic fibrosis drugs and with other drugs for multiple sclerosis as well. I do not see any reason we cannot see that change. It is important we keep the pressure on the Department and the HSE in regard to the drug the Senator referred to.

Senator Boyhan also raised the issue of organ donation. With regard to the Senator's Private Members' business this afternoon, I am not aware if the Minister will be in the House because he was away yesterday. I cannot give the Senator a definitive answer on that but I am sure one of the Ministers of State will be here. I do not have an answer for the Senator on the issue of the payment to the 4,000 people working overnight, but I will raise this with the Department.

Senator Conway-Walsh raised the issue of social protection and the need for the Minister to come to the House again to discuss it. To be honest, the most likely date for that will be as part of the social welfare Bill, which I think might be an appropriate vehicle. If we can arrange a stand-alone discussion, I will certainly try to do that.

Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein)
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I just think that JobPath deserves a focused session.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I will certainly try to do that. As the Senator knows, timelines are tight, but I am happy to try to facilitate that for her.

Senators Kelleher, Butler and Swanick raised the issue of Syria. As Members know, an all-party motion is being circulated, which I hope will be signed by the different groups. It is important we send a unified message. We can argue about a sentence or a word here or there in a motion, but the overwhelming response from us should be a unified one in condemnation of what is taking place there. We can apportion blame in a different debate. The example Senator Swanick gave and the imagery Senator Butler used with regard to the response he received from the Russian Ambassador are points we can argue until the cows come home. However, people being killed and displaced. Quality of life is being ruined and lives are being lost. It behoves all of us to work to bring about a resolution. Whether one is a member of the permanent Security Council or a Member of Seanad Éireann, we must all work to ensure that what we see happening in Aleppo and in Syria is not condoned but is condemned. We must all bring about a resolution.

I would be happy to arrange for the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to the House to address the case of vulnerable children, to whom Senator Kelleher referred. I know from talking to the Minister and from her commentary at different fora that she is very progressive on that issue. I would be happy to talk to the Senator again about that.

Senator Ó Ríordáin raised the very important issue of industrial relations. I am not going to pick a political fight with the Senator, who is somebody who has been very much on the picket line with the ASTI in the past. It behoves everybody to engage in negotiations. I would have thought that the tone of the Ministers has been conciliatory. If one reads the language of the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe, Bruton and Fitzgerald, it is about talks and engaging.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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It is not conciliatory about a job advert.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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One cannot engage in megaphone diplomacy on issues of such sensitivity around An Garda Síochána, the ASTI, the GRA, AGSI, doctors or whoever.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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We cannot do that on the airwaves or on television. The important point I wish to make is that I fully understand the frustration of members of An Garda Síochána. If Senators live and operate in the real world, they will see and hear their stories. It goes back decades. One can judge the morale of the gardaí from the internal working of An Garda Síochána and its pay issues. Senator Ó Ríordáin's party leader, the former Minister, Deputy Howlin, was very much involved in the Lansdowne Road agreement. A public sector pay commission is being established. There is one way to resolve this and that is through the industrial relations mechanisms of the State, and that is important. The vast majority of unions have signed up to pay restoration. I speak to colleagues of mine in schools and to members of An Garda Síochána every day. Government does not want to be in dispute with unions or with public sector unions, as in this case. The Minister for Justice and Equality has been quite clear. The way to resolve this is to talk. I appeal to all sides, Government and unions, to become involved in the process we have. I look forward to this being resolved.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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Will he come in to talk to us?

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Minister was here last week.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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Will he come in to talk specifically on pay restoration?

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Tánaiste was here last week. The Minister, Deputy Bruton-----

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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No, with respect, a Chathaoirleach, I asked the Leader a direct question.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Allow the Leader to respond.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I will respond. There will not be any obfuscation from my side. I will ask the Minister to come to the House. Hillary Clinton made a remark in the first US presidential debate and it transcends a lot of what is happening in this country at the moment: language is important. How we operate and how we communicate is critical. I will ask the Minister to come to the House. I have no issue with that.

I commend Senator Leyden for his work in Europe. It is important that he, along with other Members of the House and the leader of the delegation, Senator O'Reilly, work to have our case heard in Europe, in particular post-Brexit.

I want to make a reference in regard to the Seanad. We are the Upper House and are part of the Houses of the Oireachtas. A process is being undertaken and I should pay tribute to the Cathaoirleach and the former Cathaoirleach, Senator Paddy Burke, for the work they undertook in bringing this matter to a resolution. There is no benefit or gain from us continuing in a public discourse on the issue around the Seanad Chamber being moved. I appeal to all Members to accept that the process being undertaken will continue. I am sure we will find a suitable home for this august body of Members.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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We have found a home and it is lovely.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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With regard to the matter raised by Senator Ó Donnghaile about the hut, he might make representations directly to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, or put down a commencement matter. I would be happy to take up the issue if he will give me the details.

Senator Paddy Burke raised the issue of small businesses. I agree these are the backbone of our economy and I join with him in commending the Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, for having secured increased funding for the LEOs. He is correct that this requires further funding. I would be happy to have the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, and the Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, to the House.

I commend Senator Swanick for bringing to the House such great imagery in the story he told this morning. I hope we can all work to bring a resolution to that issue.

With regard to the issue of the Naval Service, I do not have the exact title the Senator is looking for in regard to the hospital ship. I believe it is an idea we should look at. In particular, I join with Senator Swanick, and hope all Members will join with us, in commending the men and women of the Naval Service, who have done huge work in the Mediterranean in saving lives. In talking to the men and women who serve, we know the trauma they have experienced in terms of the bodies they have taken from the water and the effect this has had on them. It makes us understand better the importance of the work they do. Sometimes newspaper reports do not quite illustrate or quantify in real terms the work they do and the impact it has on their lives.

Senator Gavan pointed out that USI members are demonstrating today, as is their right. The Cassells report is going to the education committee to be discussed. I share the Senator's view that the right to education is one we all should have. The issue of third level education is being prioritised by the Government and the Minister, Deputy Bruton, will come back to the House in regard to the Action Plan for Education and third level education. There has certainly been under-funding of education in the past and there is a need to further increase capitation in regard to the funding of third level. I look forward to seeing how we can do that. However, Senator Colm Burke is right that we only have a certain amount of money to spend. If we were to take Senator Gavan's model of payment plans, we would be increasing taxation across the board. That is in line with the fact Sinn Féin is a high tax party but that is a choice it has to make.

Senator Colm Burke raised the very important issue of access officer roles. I would be happy to have the Minister come to the House to discuss that.

Senator Noone raised the issue of the consumption of sugar and the quality and type of hospital food. This comes under the remit of Healthy Ireland and the task force on childhood obesity. I would be happy to have the Minister of State, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, come to the House.

Senator Feighan raised the very important issue of football hooliganism. I hope this can be taken on board under the FAI's strategic plan. To be fair to John Delaney and the FAI, they have been very vigilant and have worked hard to ensure the grounds that operate under the FAI are free from football hooliganism. There are family tickets and family enclosures, and the FAI is to be commended for the work done. I agree with Senator Feighan that the outside influence from across the Irish Sea is not welcome. The FAI should ensure that does not take hold.