That is not true.

It is true and the Senator knows it.

It is not correct.

Senator Darragh O'Brien to continue, without interruption.

I am not aware that the Senator has been appointed a Minister yet. I prefer to hear from the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, than from Minister Burke in this instance. For that reason I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business, that the Minister for Health come to the House for a debate on health and some of the examples I have given. Then, perhaps, Minister Burke on the other side of the House might like to join in and try to defend Government policy in this area.

The Senator is over time.

He does not know the facts.

Let us have a proper debate on the issue.

We are not having the debate now.

If they want that, they should invite the Minister to the House. I am proposing that he come to the House today to tell us how he will deal with the crisis in the health system which is getting worse by the day.

The tragic news of another baby's death, this time in Cavan General Hospital, is very distressing for everybody and I am sure all Senators would wish to join me in extending sympathy to the family concerned. I renew my call on the Leader to schedule a general debate on maternity services and particularly on the need to ensure sufficient specialisation in maternity services to provide for the safe delivery of service across maternity units in Ireland.

I commend the Heritage Council for the excellent briefing it is conducting today. I visited it earlier and other colleagues will be visiting it during the day. It is on all day today in Buswells Hotel. The Heritage Council briefing conveys the huge amount of work it does in supporting communities with different heritage projects across Ireland. An amazing range of initiatives is supported from Bere Island to Dublin, via the Burren and the Burrenbeo Trust. A huge amount of work is being done on a very reduced budget. The Heritage Council deserves great praise for its work, but I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on a national cultural policy and national landscape strategy to ensure there is a measure of forward planning so the Heritage Council and the organisations it supports are not left wondering each year what funding will be available to invest in different projects. For me, the huge issue from the briefing was the need to ensure the preservation of our cultural heritage and the benefits it can bring, not only the abstract benefit but also the practical benefits in terms of local employment, tourism and so forth. The Labour Party has tabled a Private Members' motion on national cultural institutions for debate tonight with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, but this is a different debate which we should have on support for the Heritage Council and a national cultural policy.

I echo the requests made by Members yesterday for a debate on sentencing and penal reform. We should focus on a report published yesterday by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, "Turnaround Youth: Young Adults (aged 18 - 24) in the Criminal Justice System". This report presents important evidence on the need for differential treatment of young people. We are all aware that younger adults are particularly at risk of becoming engaged in criminal behaviour, more so than older adults, and there are a number of risk factors which may lead to increased risks for particular groups of vulnerable young adults, including those with a history of homelessness and so forth. The report presents the evidence on this in a clear way and it would help us, when debating sentencing and penal reform, to consider the need to ensure that crime prevention measures and juvenile diversion measures are supported to reduce the levels of offending in this cohort of the population.

I second the amendment proposed by Senator Darragh O'Brien. I do not wish to repeat what I said yesterday, but there is a serious crisis throughout the health service and it is worthy of an urgent debate in the House.

It is also welcome that the Legal Services Regulation Bill, after a delay of almost three years, will be debated on Second Stage today. As somebody with a practising certificate, I hope this legislation will become law during the lifetime of the Government. I wish to bury the myth that the Law Society wants self-regulation and is against independent regulation. That is not the case. It wants independent regulation but not Government regulation. That is the key issue. However, I look forward to having time to debate that issue later.

I have previously sought a debate on the persecution of Christians in different parts of the world. I was delighted to see that debate taking place in the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade this morning. I welcome this, although I am not a member of the committee. However, I still believe it is worthy of debate in this House. We believe in freedom of religion, freedom to practise religion and freedom of views but, unfortunately, in huge areas of the world if one is a Christian of any denomination, be it Church of Ireland, Protestant, Catholic or Anglican, persecution is rife. I hope, before the summer recess, the Leader will allocate two or three hours to debate that issue with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. It would be a worthwhile debate for this Chamber.