I condemn the allegations made by a number of Senators in this House that my party and my party's president, as they put it, were engaged in a cover-up of child abuse. I refute those allegations absolutely, as I did on Tuesday. I repeat that if anybody has information about abuse, they should bring that information to the proper authorities. The criminal justice system - An Garda Síochána in this State and the PSNI in the North - are the appropriate authorities to deal with these issues. Senator Ivana Bacik said she had a dossier. Has she provided it for the authorities?

On a point of order, it is simply a dossier about the trial of Liam Adams which has concluded and is in the public domain.

But she seems to-----

Senator David Cullinane to continue, without interruption.

Senator Ivana Bacik seems to suggest, as do a number of other Senators in this House, that there is information in their possession in relation to a cover-up of abuse, which is simply not true. Sinn Féin as a party and the Sinn Féin president, Deputy Gerry Adams, were not involved in any cover-up. I make the point again. If anyone-----

Was he involved in a Sinn Féin court?

Senator David Cullinane to continue, without interruption.

The Senator has information, as does his party.

We have had a bellyful of the Senator's false outrage on this issue in the House-----

It is not false outrage. I ask the Senator to withdraw that remark.

Will the Senator, please, resume his seat?

It is false outrage. The Senator is trying to score political points.

It is not false outrage. How dare the Senator say that?

I will not be withdrawing any remark-----

The Senator should.

The Senator is the individual who said he was disgusted with a Deputy in the Lower House who quite rightly said on the national airwaves that the way to deal with these issues was not trial by media or trial by politicians such as the Senator-----

He said he did not know whether he believed Maíria Cahill.

-----but in a compassionate and the appropriate way, which is through the criminal justice system.

The point I wanted to raise was actually something I raised yesterday, which is the situation in Waterford and Carlow in respect of the proposed merger of the institutes of technology and the issue of university status. When I asked the question yesterday, the Leader was not aware that the merger had collapsed. That is obviously unfortunate. We need to get all the parties back to the table again. I am a strong, enthusiastic supporter of a technological university. I believe it needs to be a multi-campus one. I do not believe politicians in opposition should in any way use this issue to attack the Government or the Minister. I am absolutely of the view that the Government parties are committed to making this happen. We now need to put in place a process that can deliver on this very important issue.

I imagine the Leader of the House would agree that this is a major issue for the people of the south east. We have campaigned for a long time to have this in the programme for Government and to have the Cabinet agree that it must happen but for it to unravel now for different reasons is entirely inappropriate. I ask the Leader to comment and, if he is in a position to do so, to update the House on the actions being taken by the Department to proceed with this issue.

I agree with Senator David Cullinane that anybody with information on child abuse or sexual abuse of any nature should pass it on immediately to the relevant authorities, the Garda in the South or the PSNI in the North. I hope that his party leader and his fellow party members who have information about anyone guilty of this type of crime who may have been run into the South - or run from the South into the North of Ireland - would pass that information on as a matter of urgency to the relevant authorities and that they would be first in the queue with the information.

I support the call made this morning by Senator Pat O'Neill for an urgent debate with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, on the beef sector. There is no logical reason farmers in Northern Ireland should receive €350 more per animal than their southern counterparts for beef. The beef sector is in crisis. I do not want to see any factories blockaded because it impacts on people's livelihoods and jobs, but farmers have no option given that their livelihoods are at risk and many of them will go under. This debate must be scheduled as soon as we return the week after next.

I want to renew the call I made recently for the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to come into the House for a substantial debate on the mental health budget for 2015, with particular reference to suicide awareness and prevention. In doing that, I acknowledge the innovative campaign rolled out last week by the HSE's national office for suicide prevention in conjunction with 20 partner organisations, called "The Little Things". The "little things" are acts of self-care that are proven to help us feel better and get through tough times. The campaign gives tips on matters like the need for people to keep active, the need to talk about their problems with others, helping others who are in difficulty, staying in touch, eating healthily, drinking less alcohol and looking out for others. I hope we will circulate the posters, cards and information that we have all been given widely. Particularly given the impact of social media, there are great opportunities to publicise this highly innovative campaign among the wider public. However, we must have a substantial debate with the Minister of State in the near future on the topic of mental health, and particularly in relation to suicide prevention and awareness.