Fianna Fáil agrees with the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. This week marks a momentous occasion in the lives of the people of both Dún Laoghaire and the island of Ireland because of the decision by Stena Line to shut down its ferry link with Holyhead. This will bring to an end a 204-year history - going back to 1811 - of ferry services in which it was the main ferry port for embarkation to and arrival from the United Kingdom. Like many of my generation and those before and since then, I had occasion to use the boat to England that went from Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead and then the train to Crewe, at which one changed for the train to London. It is a very sad day and I am sure the Leader and Members will agree that we should mark the passing because of the significance of the occasion.

Hear, hear.

From listening to representatives of the chamber of commerce in Dún Laoghaire, I understand that because cruise line business into Dún Laoghaire has been growing, this has helped considerably to minimise the impact of any potential job losses. I was also interested to discover that originally Dunleary was the name of the area and it was only on the arrival of King George IV in 1820 that the good citizens of Dunleary decided to rename the town as Kingstown. The Irish Free State then of course reverted to the original Dún Laoghaire. I worked in RTE for a long time and when I was there first, it had a pronunciation unit. To this day, RTE people are the people who refer to that area as "Dún Laoghaire", whereas most people refer to it as "Dunleary". There is a similar situation in Portlaoise, where most people who live there call it "Portlaois" but, according to RTE, it is "Portlaoise".

In addition, I wish to praise the Minister, Deputy Reilly, for holding firm against what seems to be an onslaught from Europe - I am sure the Leader will comment on this - in respect of standardised tobacco packaging. The Seanad passed that legislation last year and I understand it is due to come before the Dáil later this month. I am glad to note the Minister is holding firm, despite what appears to be unprecedented opposition from at least ten European Union member states. It goes to show what Senator Crown, a leading advocate of that legislation, said at the time it was introduced here to the effect that the tobacco industry is the enemy and is very well resourced. It is obvious that the tobacco industry's lobbying skills have managed to have a great impact in a number of member states. However, the fact that the United Kingdom and France are moving towards adopting similar legislation will strengthen our resolve.

Finally, I wish to bring up again an issue I raised earlier this week to which the Leader had responded positively, that is, the possibility of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, coming before the House. As Members are aware, over the past 48 hours, he has been referring to the strong relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland and about the fears people in this country have about the possibility, on foot of the holding of a referendum after the elections in the United Kingdom, of the United Kingdom exiting from the European Union. I am particularly pleased that the Minister is visiting Scotland today because I believe we have somehow undervalued the historic relationship between Scotland and Ireland. As the North of Ireland is in one sense a shared jurisdiction in terms of a shared interest in which Scotland has a strong historical role, that visit is particularly significant and I welcome it. My original request was about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, which has been escalated even further by the US Defence Secretary-in-waiting saying he is "inclined" towards supporting Ukraine with arms. I consider that to be an escalation that is not helping in any way towards a peaceful resolution in that troubled area. However, when the Leader is communicating with the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, in this regard, it would be an opportunity for the Minister both to give an outline of the Irish position on the Russian sanctions and about the impending referendum on the European Union. It would be an opportunity for the Minister to restate Ireland's position in this House - which I believe would be supported overwhelmingly by the Irish people - namely, that we would support continuing membership of the European Union by the United Kingdom if for nothing other than purely selfish reasons.

I join Senator Paschal Mooney in marking the Stena Line decision to close its Dún Laoghaire-Holyhead ferry link. I think all of us have memories of taking that boat from Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead. Certainly the growth of the cruise market in Dún Laoghaire has been very positive but it is none the less worth marking the end of an era in terms of that particular route.

I ask the Leader for a debate on EU developments in light of what appears to be an increased escalation of tension between Athens and the European Central Bank following the ECB decision announced last night after the meeting between Mario Draghi and the Greek Finance Minister on Greek bonds. This is a situation that is developing day by day and I would like if we could have a debate on what it means for the European Union and Ireland. As Senator Paschal Mooney has said, there are other developments in terms of the British referendum which would have a potential seismic change within the European Union. In the coming weeks it would be good to have the Minister with responsibility for European affairs come to the House to debate these and other issues around the development of the European Union.

I thank all the colleagues who attended the briefing I hosted yesterday with the Irish Penal Reform Trust on spent convictions. We heard some very eloquent testimonies from individuals whose criminal record has been a real difficulty, no matter how long in the past or how minor, because we still do not have spent convictions legislation in place in Ireland. The Bill passed through the Seanad. It was commenced in the Dáil and completed Committee Stage there but is awaiting Report Stage due to Government amendments being drafted to ensure it is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights, following a decision in a UK Supreme Court case. I will certainly renew calls on the Minister for Justice and Equality to ensure the Bill completes its passage through the Dáil without delay because there are many people in Ireland who are affected by this and who, due perhaps to very old and very minor convictions, are hampered in employment, education and travel prospects. This is a matter of real concern and I thank colleagues who attended the briefing.

I commend the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, GLEN, and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, who yesterday launched a new anti-bullying resource for primary schools. Given the events of recent weeks at Coláiste Eoin, which Senator David Norris and I raised, it is great to see a national resource being rolled out for primary schools to tackle homophobic bullying and bullying generally. It is an issue we have been speaking about this week in the House in the context of the Gender Recognition Bill. I am sure we will return to it when speaking on the Bill next week, but I just want to mark the launch of that document.

I wish to note that tomorrow is international day of zero tolerance against female genital mutilation, FGM. I spoke on this issue earlier this week in the House and noted that in Egypt we have seen the first ever conviction. For many women and girls worldwide this remains a serious abuse of human rights issues. I note the great work that organisations such as AkiDwA and the Irish Family Planning Association are carrying out in Ireland to tackle FGM.