I call Senator Ray Butler, as I do not think he spoke yesterday.

I did not get to speak yesterday, even though I had prepared a speech. There was such a big crowd yesterday that I decided to hold off until today.

I take the opportunity to congratulate the Irish team on their outstanding performance against Sweden in Paris on Monday and wish them continued success in the next games. I acknowledge the tens of thousands of Irish soccer fans who have travelled to France as incredible ambassadors for Ireland. They have shown the world how to create and enjoy a positive, safe and fun atmosphere in which we can all join. They have done us proud and I urge them to keep it up.

I offer my sincere condolences to the family of Darren Rodgers, a Northern Ireland football fan from Ballymena who tragically lost his life at the weekend in Nice. I also express my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting whose lives were abruptly and brutally cut short. There are no words of comfort for all of the families who lost loved ones in this barbaric act of terrorism. May they rest in peace.

Before I address the specific reason I am speaking today, I congratulate Senator Denis O'Donovan on being appointed Cathaoirleach, Senator Paul Coghlan on being appointed Leas-Chathaoirleach and Senator Jerry Buttimer on being appointed Leader of the House. I wish all of my colleagues in the Twenty-fifth Seanad a successful term.

I am delighted that in my first speech in the Twenty-fifth Seanad I will refer to statements made by the Minister for Health which were published last Tuesday and Thursday in the Irish Independent. I welcome his statement that he plans to close the gap between the self-employed and PAYE workers. Like many others in the Oireachtas, including Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell, I have campaigned on the issue of social protection and sought social welfare benefits for the self-employed. In the past five years, with others, I campaigned continuously in the Lower House to have the issue of the social welfare status of the self-employed addressed. This is the only country in Europe which is industrialised that does not provide social protection for the self-employed. There are 330,000 self-employed persons with no such protection. If they get sick or suffer a disability in the morning, they will be entitled to nothing. In the five years I was a Deputy there was the Mangan report on social insurance and I hope it will be implemented. It is a huge issue for the self-employed. If we want people to create jobs, we need to put a safety net in place. I will table a motion that I hope will be supported by all parties. I also hope all Senators will support the plans of the Minister for Health for the self-employed. I call on the bigger unions that represent self-employed persons to come on board. The elephant in the room on the last occasion was whether participation in the initiative should be voluntary or made mandatory. I suggest it be mandatory because nothing in the sphere of social protection works where participation is voluntary. As I said, I will table a motion on the matter that I hope will be supported by everybody in the House.

I thank the Senator for his kind remarks.