On the other major matter Senators have raised about what happened outside Leinster House yesterday, Members were accosted in going about their business, while a female garda was injured and hospitalised. There were vile remarks directed at people; cars were damaged and people spat at. When the garda was injured, people were taking photographs and laughing at her. This is anarchy and unacceptable in a parliamentary democracy and should not be tolerated. I am delighted to hear that the Garda Commissioner is coming tomorrow for a meeting to review the issue of security and what happened. I know how inconvenienced Members were. I also know about the difficult family circumstances faced by Members who could not get to their destinations. Their families were very hurt as a result. I will not delve into the matter, but I have heard about the personal circumstances of some Members and they were appalling. It was certainly an attack on democracy.

I am sorry for interrupting, but on a point of order-----

Will the Senator, please, allow the Leader to speak?

If it is a point of order-----

I will rule on the issue. What is Senator Mary White's point of order?

My information is that it was the dissident Continuity IRA that was involved. We have to-----

The Senator knows that that is not a point of order. Will the Leader, please, continue

I thank the Senator for supporting me. They were anarchists. It was an attack on democracy and should not be tolerated. There may have been people who had engaging in a legitimate protest on their minds, but it was certainly overtaken by these thugs. I reject the assertion that there is sensationalism about the coverage. Members know exactly what happened which can be viewed on social media. However, those involved will probably not include footage of the attacks they made on gardaí and Members. I hope the issue will be addressed, as any right-thinking person does not want to see this thuggery. Some 95% of people do not want to see it outside Parliament, any house or building where thuggish elements attack gardaí who do so much for us in protecting democracy.

Senator Feargal Quinn raised the issue of mortgage interest rates and asked that No. 28 be discussed. We will certainly consider his request. Some of the banks have reduced their variable interest rates and I hope action will be taken against those which have not done so.

The Senator also referred to the building regulations guidelines and said the provisions of the carbon monoxide alarm legislation were included in them. Our input fed into the regulations and I am glad that the Seanad played a part in that regard.

On swimming lessons for children, I am told that aquatics is a component part of the physical strand of the primary school curriculum. Many schools provide swimming lessons for children. I do not know whether they are compulsory, but I agree with the Senator and hope such lessons will be extended to everyone.

Senators David Cullinane and Mary Moran referred to the passing of Val Doonican. He was made a freeman of my city, Waterford. I knew him and know many of his family in the city. He was certainly a proud Waterford man and Irish man. He often said he was an overnight success, but he had been ploughing the ground-----