As I spoke the last day about Mr. Jimmy Walsh, I will not dwell on it other than to wish him the very best in his retirement. He has so much to offer. We always talk about the lack of coverage of the Seanad in the media. Perhaps having somebody inside who knows the scene and how to do it best might not be a bad idea.

I have been speaking on child care for the past 20 years in public. I was on the first expert group on child care established in the 1990s. It is a regressive step for a Minister to express any doubt. In fairness to the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, he did not speak about women and child care. He was speaking about the economic issue and would be interpreted as gender neutral. It was on the economy, on child care. I agree with Senators Bacik and van Turnhout, one of whom requested that child care be decoupled from the economic decision. Child care is about much more than economics - child care is about society. If we want a society to work, we need proper child care.

A Senator asked for reports, but we do not need any more reports. There are reports stacked high going back as far as the 1970s on the economic and social benefits of child care. Therefore, it is not an economic decision and social policy should not be left to bankers - it is a Government decision. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, is being misquoted in reference to "women". He did not say "women" and that is my interpretation of it. It was on the issue of child care and economics. Every Minister should stand behind the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, who is doing a brilliant job. The report we had on child care outlined all the initiatives to be implemented that would save the Government money. It is absolutely brilliant. Everybody in government and opposition should support the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, and support the child-care initiatives that will bring the country forward. Ministers cannot be blamed when taken out of context in the gender issue.

I wish to raise one further issue.

The Senator is-----

I will leave it until tomorrow.

Some Members are already complaining because the Order of Business has become so elongated with the tributes to Mr. Jimmy Walsh, the journalist. Some Members are already getting frustrated, wondering when they will get in. Many speakers are offering and it will be the longest Order of Business in the history of the House.

I call Senator Jim Walsh.

When I was first elected to this House in 1997, I realised that I was only an imposter as Jim Walsh. During the count my family were manning the counting of the votes - I must have been away in the bar or somewhere else when I got to the stage I could relax at the count. When I came back I was told that a man was waiting to meet me urgently but had not left his name. When I came back a second time, that man had returned and this time said he wanted to meet his namesake. I am not even sure if we met at that count, but I certainly got to know Mr. Jimmy Walsh afterwards.

Like all other Members of this House, I came to respect and like the genuineness of a reporter. Politicians often have a sense of suspicion when dealing people in the media - often with good reason. However, Mr. Jimmy Walsh stood out as a man who could be trusted and had good views. I concur to some extent with Senator Norris that if he could be a Member of this House, I would certainly like to welcome another republican among our midst. We got to know each other's political views over time, as I am sure many other Members have in sharing various stories and anecdotes. I also got to know some of my colleagues here who kept in frequent contact with Mr. Jimmy Walsh because I often got messages for him on my phone when I was in the five-storey block. Senator Norris was a particularly frequent caller and I always passed on his messages to Mr. Jimmy Walsh.

We never heard about that mobile phone.