Senator Ivana Bacik said the minimum age for marriage would be 18 years following a Cabinet decision today, which she welcomed. She also complimented all of the volunteers involved in dealing with the floods.

Senators Katherine Zappone, Feargal Quinn, Cáit Keane, Mark Daly and Michael Mullins referred to Ibrahim Halawa. Last week the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade gave a comprehensive update on his case. The Government is doing everything possible to secure his release. As Senator Michael Mullins mentioned, it is most regrettable that Senator Mark Daly, as he did last week, is trying to make a political football of the issue.

It is not a political football. It is simply the case that the Government is not doing enough.

We should all be united in our efforts to secure the release of this Irish citizen, which is what the Government is doing.

It is not repeating what the Australian Government did in the case of its citizen, Mr. Peter Greste.

Please allow the Leader to respond.

The Government is doing everything possible to secure Mr. Halawa's release.

The Australian Government invoked Law 140 and exerted all of its diplomatic pressure to do so. It secured Mr. Greste's release.

To listen to a political charge being made by the Senator is reprehensible.

The Government has clearly failed to do the same thing in the case of an Irish citizen who has spent his 20th birthday in jail.

Please allow the Leader to respond. I allowed the Senator an extra one minute of time. It is unfair not to let the Leader to respond. The debate will take place tomorrow.

If the Leader wants to make political charges, I will respond.

The Senator is the one who made the political charges and I am responding to them.

I made statements of fact.

Political charges are allowed in the Chamber.

Was Senator Mark Daly here to listen to the Minister last week? I hope he was.

Perhaps the Leader should not goad the Senator too often either.

There is no need to goad him. He goads everybody else each time he stands up.

Let sleeping dogs lie.