I add my voice to those expressing sympathy to the families of those who were killed and injured in Berkeley today. It is really bad news that is just winding its way through Ireland.

I also wish to stand with the workers of Clerys. While I was unable to attend their protest today, I stand foursquare behind them and my sympathy goes out to all those who found themselves out of a job overnight, or in a matter of minutes, really. As spokesperson on social protection, I will work closely with the Minister to ensure the workers will be able to avoid the hassle and grief of applying for their redundancy, that it is fast-tracked and that their social welfare payments are put in place as quickly as possible.

The Cathaoirleach should forgive me for raising a matter that was raised last week, but I was off with a medical issue. I can tell him it did me no good to hear from the media that funding for Rape Crisis Network Ireland was being withdrawn by Tusla last week. The entire health budget was €13.1 billion, out of which Tusla was given a budget of €609 million. Cumulatively, 16 rape crisis centres and Rape Crisis Network Ireland received €4.2 million of this, which is just 0.7% of the overall health budget. It would be an absolute disgrace were funding to be withdrawn from these centres, which are absolutely invaluable to women in particular, because it is predominantly women who are raped and sexually abused. However, according to the Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland, SAVI, report, one in five girls and one in six boys experience sexual abuse as children. For adults, the figures are even worse, as 42% of women experience some form of sexual abuse and 10% are raped, while 28% of men endure some form of sexual abuse and 3% are raped. These are frightening figures and it is terrible to have the funding withdrawn.

I come from County Kerry, where the sexually transmitted infections, STI, clinic was closed down and transferred to Cork. If one looks up the telephone number for the STI clinic in County Kerry, it is care of an 021 number, a Cork number, and consequently, people in County Kerry do not even have that. Although the clinic visits regularly, there is a third level institution in County Kerry and there should be a permanent STI clinic. I acknowledge and welcome that the forensics and the experts are in Cork, but when a person has been raped or sexually abused, he or she really needs to speak to someone locally, and the rape crisis centre is obviously a port of call for such people. Consequently, although this may have been sought last week, I reiterate that call for the Minister to come to the House and explain to Members why this funding was withdrawn and the reasoning behind it.

First, I join Senator Darragh O'Brien and other Members who have expressed sympathy to the families of the young students who died tragically in California.

I also wish to raise an issue that has been raised already, namely, that of the Clerys workers, which must be debated in this House. First, I welcome the support that has been expressed and, to be fair, given to those workers by Ministers and Government Senators. Unfortunately, however, Members have been here before and it is a painful reminder of what happened to the workers in Talk Talk in Waterford back in 2011, who also were given extremely short notice and who again were treated shabbily by their former employers at that time. There also have been sit-in protests at Vita Cortex, Waterford Crystal and Lagan Brick, and in many other cases recently. Legislation must be changed to ensure there are much more robust protections for workers, because in the case of Clerys, 130 direct staff will receive only their statutory entitlements. In addition, a further 330 staff who are employed by concession holders face an uncertain future. The former and previous employers have refused to meet the union or the workers themselves. I also attended the protest today to stand in solidarity with the Clerys workers. I spoke to many of them who had been there for 40 years and more and who simply were heartbroken by the manner in which they were treated. While the primary responsibility for this obviously lies with the employer and the disgraceful way in which they were treated, Members' job is to legislate to make sure people are protected.

There have been numerous instances where workers have been obliged to engage in sit-in protests. What we need to do is fix the problem, through the introduction of legislation, to ensure employers cannot walk away from their responsibilities, which they repeatedly seem to be doing in the State. That is not good enough. We can give all the tea and sympathy in the world to the workers in question and to those who were affected in the past but what they want is protection and it is our job and that of our counterparts in the Dáil to provide for it. I support the call that has been made for the appropriate Minister to come before the House in order that we might engage in a debate on the legislation which must be put in place to solve these problems and to ensure that much more robust protections for workers will be provided.

I, too, express my condolences to the families of those young students who were killed or injured in Berkeley in the United States. For them to have been attending such a happy event, the 21st birthday party of one of their contemporaries, and for it to end so tragically is quite shocking.

I also voice my support for the Clerys workers. When I first heard about this matter, I was concerned, shocked and surprised by the fact that the store was closing. However, my feelings soon turned to disgust when I discovered how the workers are apparently being treated. We often discuss the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers, but I do not believe I have ever previously seen quite such brazen treatment of staff, although reference was made to the former employees of TalkTalk in this regard. This style of takeover and shutdown of retail companies does not reflect how business has traditionally been carried out in this country and I do not believe it should be welcomed to these shores. The most heartbreaking aspect of this matter relates to the fact that when they commented on it in recent days, the staff seemed to be of the view that the store was doing much better than previously. It was making money but obviously this was not enough to service the huge debts it had built up. This is an extremely difficult issue and I wish the Ministers involved well in their efforts to provide assistance.

I welcome the decision the Government took earlier today to remove 1 cent and 2 cent coins from circulation. As I only made a request last week that this should happen, I am delighted the Government has been so quick to deal with it. On a serious note-----

If the Senator requests that the cut to payments to lone parents be reversed, perhaps the matter might be dealt with quickly also.

I will see what I can do. I obviously have the magic touch sometimes.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?