The Leader will agree that this House has a good track record in upholding human rights and highlighting human rights abuses across the world. In that regard, I am honoured to welcome to the Visitors Gallery Dr. Nada Dhaif, one of the Bahraini doctors sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the regime in that country, simply for providing medical treatment for persons protesting for human rights and democracy. I also welcome Professor Damian McCormack, Ms Sheila Dickson and Ms Tara O'Grady from the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation. Since February 2011 the Bahraini Government has been cracking down on pro-democracy and human rights campaigners, including the many doctors who have, as is their right and duty, treated people who were tortured and beaten on the streets of that country. This coming Thursday 15 of those doctors will undergo a retrial in a civilian court, many of them having already received sentences of between five and 15 years on the most spurious of charges. It behoves this House - Members of all parties and none - to show its total support for the persons being tried on Thursday. Will the Leader raise this matter with the Taoiseach and ask the Deputy Leader, Senator Ivana Bacik, to raise it with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade? They should, in advance of Thursday, convey our absolute abhorrence at the manner in which medical professionals, many of whom received their training in this country, have been treated by the Bahraini Government. I ask that our entreaties be conveyed directly to the King of Bahrain and senior Bahraini Ministers. It is my understanding a new Bahraini ambassador was appointed last week who will work out of Britain but deal also with the Republic. There is no time to delay on this matter in which we have an important role to play. It has been discussed by the Seanad on previous occasions and groups within the medical community, with the exception of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, have come out very strongly against the measures taken by the Bahraini Government. The silence of some in the medical profession and politics on this matter can only be condemned. Will the Leader and the Deputy Leader give a commitment to me, Dr. Dhaif and her colleagues who are in prison and awaiting retrial this Thursday that they will urge their respective party leaders - the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste - to do their utmost to raise this issue directly with the King of Bahrain and his senior Ministers to ensure justice is done for the medics in Bahrain who are being persecuted for doing their duty?

I assure Senator Darragh O'Brien that I will convey his comments directly to the Tánaiste. I join him in welcoming Dr. Dhaif and her colleagues and commend their bravery in continuing to stand up for human rights and the right of doctors to perform their medical duties in Bahrain under enormous pressure. As he observed, we have raised this issue in the House on previous occasions. I assure him that we on this side, together with colleagues on all other sides, will do all we can to ensure the oppression in Bahrain is brought to an end. Given that the final verdict in the trials is expected this Thursday, I agree that there is urgency attached to the matter. It was only following international pressure that the trials were moved to a civilian court. We must have more of that type of pressure brought to bear on the Bahraini authorities. As the Senator said, there is a particular reason for us to do so, given the very strong links between Bahrain and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland which has been rightly criticised by many for its failure in the past to stand up for the rights of medics in Bahrain. I hope we will see a greater degree of courage in that quarter.

Will the Leader allow for a debate on the upcoming constitutional convention?

Like others last week, I very much welcome the setting up of the constitutional convention, the idea of which was put forward by the Tánaiste, as Labour Party leader, at the Labour Party conference in Galway in 2010. It is very much welcome that it will be made up of 33 elected representatives, but with a majority of 66 citizens, who will examine a range of issues. The first two issues will be the voting age and the presidential term. I very much look forward to the broader range of issues which will be considered by the constitutional convention. Some very important issues will be dealt with. It would be worthwhile if the Seanad was to debate, perhaps in parallel with the convention, some of these issues - for example, amending the clause on the role of women in the home, greater participation of women in public life and the role which gender sensitive parliamentary procedures can play in encouraging more women to come forward. There are some very obvious things we in the Seanad can do to assist and support the work of the constitutional convention.

We all welcome the Leader's announcement that the Orange Order has been invited to the Seanad on 3 July. That is a remarkable and historic step and it will mark a historic day for the Seanad. Next Tuesday will be another historic day for the Seanad with the Seanad Public Consultation Committee having a second round of hearings in the Chamber, this time on issues around cancer prevention. This week we will have a debate on the report the Seanad Public Consultation Committee produced on the rights of older people. This is a change in procedure and a real break with the more traditional procedures of the past in the Seanad and it shows the real value and worth of this House.

The Seanad is honoured today by the presence of Dr. Nada Dhaif in the Visitors Gallery. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland has dishonoured the name of Ireland by its inaction and the fact it dismissed some of its graduates in Bahrain at the instigation of the Bahrainian authorities. That is absolutely reprehensible and it should be held to account by public opinion for this. Dr. Dhaif is a woman of quite exemplary courage. There is a principle involved here, namely, that doctors are required by the Hippocratic oath to assist people, regardless of where they come from or what side they are on. Doctors and nurses are neutral; they treat the wounded. We had a horrible example in this country of Jean McConville who was murdered by the IRA simply for giving a glass of water to a British soldier. That was her right as a human being. We must make a strong protest, in particular in light of the fact that the motivation of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland seems to be to protect its investment of €17 million. That is not a sufficient reason. The same is true of Britain. It has said nothing because it is involved in gigantic arms sales to Bahrain and I am against that too. I would like an end to the silence of the Irish Government on this matter.

I wish to raise a matter raised last week by Senator van Turnhout and supported by others who commended the PSNI and the Garda for a series of raids on what were described as "brothels", the action we were told was against trafficking and so on. I am glad to say I entered a hesitation about this because in this week's Sunday Independent Jim Cusack, who is a very highly respected writer and who has been writing for a long time on criminal matters, indicated that as many as half of the residences raided in Northern Ireland were not brothels and had no connection with prostitution and that in some cases it was done with invalid warrants. One of the apartments in which the door was smashed down belonged to a young woman journalist and her partner who is a barrister. They had nothing whatever to do with prostitution. In another case, a door was smashed down and the officer involved telephoned the young woman who owned the apartment at work and implied she was involved in prostitution. She was rightly horrified.

It is a very serious situation in legal terms for the PSNI. I understand the Garda is embarrassed about this situation and is concerned about the publicity generated.

Have you a question for the Leader?

I call for a debate on this issue because it is very important we have one.