I pay tribute to Donal Walsh, the young teenager who tragically died from cancer earlier this week. I extend our sympathy to his parents, sister and family. He was a young man who in a short lifetime achieved a great deal, not only in raising awareness of suicide and doing important work on suicide prevention but also in his immense fund-raising efforts for Crumlin children's hospital. Much of his involvement was so commendable and his family must be very proud of him. In my time in this House we have had numerous debates on the subject of suicide prevention, yet the short video on suicide prevention which he filmed spoke volumes. It will have a much greater impact and has done so already than a great deal of other suicide prevention work.

I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the inspection of centres for children and adults with disabilities.

I am delighted HIQA has announced it will begin inspections of these centres later this year. That is hugely important and is something for which many people have been looking for a long time. It has set out 60 standards which will underpin the inspections. However, it would be good for this House to debate the sort of inspections of centres for children and adults with disabilities carried out in other jurisdictions and the sort of standards which should be adhered to in those centres.

I welcome the progress being made on the Bus Éireann strike at the Labour Relations Commission, being conscious that so many people were affected by yesterday's strike. I very much hope there will be a successful conclusion to the negotiations at the Labour Relations Commission. It is very welcome from the point of view of all sides that the strike has been called off to allow those negotiations to take place and tribute should be paid to the Labour Relations Commission and all those involved in the negotiations.

I, too, pay my respects to the parents of young Donal Walsh who passed away - his mum, Elma, and his dad, Fionnbar. As somebody who has worked for many years with Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin in the area of fundraising, I have seen many young children who have passed through the hospital pass away. Young Donal was diagnosed with cancer at 12 years of age and he had the courage and the wisdom to refuse to give up on what was termed "a death sentence" when he was diagnosed. According to Donal, every day he went to the hospital was like a trip to hell. When one thinks of what is happening in the world today, whether strikes, economic crises and the various issues which come up in the Seanad and in the Dáil, the death of this young man puts life and the meaning of life into perspective.

He became an advocate for suicide prevention in a television appearance and in the press articles written about him. He viewed suicide as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Given that suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people in Ireland, perhaps Donal's death should not be in vain and that is time for the Government to put extra resources into mental health, in particular for young people.

Tá áthas orm gur ardaigh mo bheirt chomhghleacaithe bás Dhónail Bhreathnach. I share in the tributes rightly being paid to the late Donal Walsh. He was a teenager who many of us have followed in recent months, since his appearance on RTE television. In those short few months, he achieved what many people fail to do in a lifetime, which is, he found his voice and a way to turn his sickness, his suffering and his impending death into a way to help others. Many people do not find that meaning and purpose in their lives and it is a tragedy for them but it is all the more awesome that Donal did and that he spoke with such clarity. As many people find difficult to do in his situation, he had a very clear idea of what was happening and he was not afraid to face up to that.

He challenged us all - young and old - to be grateful for our lives and to take the opportunity each day presents. His particular message about suicide might have been difficult for some people to hear, in particular other young people, but he had the credibility and ability to say something which was vitally important for them to hear. It was more than just youthful idealism; there was a determined maturity in what he was about. As has been said, he taught us a lot in that short time. He taught us a lot about suffering, happiness and ultimate meaning. May he rest in peace and may his family be consoled by the fine and courageous example he set to all.

On that tragic subject of suicide, it is noteworthy - others have spoken about it - that in recent weeks, a coroner in south Kerry and a coroner in north Donegal have spoken out about the problem of suicide. One asked if we were losing sight of humanity while the other feared we were not taking it sufficiently seriously in terms of the amount of money spent on suicide prevention compared to road safety. For example, €30 million was spent on road safety in 2011 while just €3 million was spent on suicide prevention.

I understand that tens of millions of pounds sterling have been spent in Northern Ireland.

As I have said before, I do not know what the exact answer is for suicide prevention. I do not know if it should be about one single organisation, as in other jurisdictions, focusing on the problem. A lot of it is about attitudes. It is about recognising that the law and the wider culture are educators. Each of us looks to the culture in this situation, and in other areas, to see what is the appropriate way to respond in a time of crisis. Our message must be much clearer as a society. While we console those who have been bereaved and pay a just tribute to those who have died, we must convey a loud and clear message that what has happened is the wrong thing. As has been said, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The debate must continue but in a way that helps rather than hinders.

Finally, I welcome the announcement by the HSE of the membership of a review group to examine the emergency response to the incident of a tragic death of a toddler in Cork last week. He had to be driven to hospital by a local sporting hero because there was no question of an ambulance arriving on time. The availability of emergency services to people is a human rights issue. No matter what difficulties we face as an economy we cannot lose sight of that. I hope that the review group will conduct its work speedily. We must also pay tribute to the great work being done by ambulance drivers, first aid personnel and so on. We have a serious problem if we cannot guarantee a basic minimum response of emergency support and care to people as arose in the very tragic case involving a young boy, Vakaris Martinaitis.

Like others, I wish to express my sympathies to the family of Donal Walsh, a very brave young man. I learned of his death on Sunday night from my younger daughter who, like a lot of young people, got the information on YouTube and Facebook. On Sunday night I sat down and watched his YouTube video on his life and I also read his account of his experience with cancer. He has motivated practically every second level student in the country to raise money for the children's hospitals. In his long writings he stated that when he relapsed the second time with cancer and had to return to Crumlin children's hospital that as he re-entered the ward it struck him that nothing had changed since his first stay. He discovered that the conditions in the ward, in terms of the facilities available, were just as they were when he developed cancer and sought treatment the first time. If his death does nothing else it proves to me that our decision to prioritise the building of a new national children's hospital was not just necessary but long overdue. Much as I appreciate the efforts of young people to raise money for our hospitals, such fundraising should not be necessary in a developed country.

Yesterday, I was very proud to attend the opening of an Access housing unit in Cork with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. It is an innovative new service that will house homeless people by moving them out of long-term homeless accommodation into homes, principally in the rental sector. It was established in response to the unfortunate growing demand for emergency accommodation and a growing incidence of homelessness. The prioritising of homelessness makes sound economic sense for the State because its prevention saves it a significant amount of money. We spend €23,000 on every single person in emergency homeless accommodation. It is in that context that I again ask the Leader to arrange a debate on homelessness, particularly the shortage of housing.