Could I ask the Leader to invite the First Minister of the Scottish Parliament and leader of the Scottish National Party, SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, to address this Chamber in the near future on Brexit? There is a great affinity between certain parts of Ireland and Scotland and we have a lot in common. We heard a lot recently about countries that want to leave the European Union but Scotland wants to stay in it. I ask that Nicola Sturgeon would be invited to address Seanad Éireann before the summer recess on Brexit.

I rise to discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI. It has been covered in all the media this morning. Ongoing issues have been a factor there since 2014. A whistleblower made very serious allegations under the various provisions of the whistleblowing legislation which I do not intend to repeat in this House. The NMBI is charged with the protection of the public by supporting nurses and midwives and to maintain practice standards in the health service. We know it is involved in the registration of nurses and midwives in Ireland and it also deals with fitness to practice and various issues in that regard, including safety in relation to public health. The NMBI is a critically important body with statutory functions and it works in close co-operation with the Department of Health.

A whistleblower raised concerns about operations within the NMBI with the Department of Health in 2014 and they were documented and confirmed by the then Minister. The whistleblower was protected under the disclosure provisions set down under whistleblower legislation. Others have now come forward and reiterated major concerns in relation to the NMBI. Consultants appointed by the body itself undertook a report into the organisation and identified huge shortcomings. The NMBI’s own report paints a picture of an organisation rife with dispute, internal conflicts and significant challenges.

Will the Minister for Health come to the House because we need to ask serious questions of the organisation? I will not make any additional statements because from documents I have seen today, the Minister is fully aware of the situation, following the consultant’s report and member nurses and midwives of the organisation that have given me a certain amount of information. The Minister must come to the House and reassure not only the Seanad and Dáil but the public that he has every confidence in the organisation. I respectfully ask the Leader to organise a meeting very early next week. It is my intention to further elaborate on these issues next Tuesday if the Minister is not in the House on the day.

Hear, hear.

I am delighted the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, is in France this morning to mark the ceremonies to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. It was a major offensive by British and French armies on the German lines, beginning on 1 July 1916. The action continued until November 1916. Six Meath men were killed on the opening day of the major offensive. Edward Chambers of Trim was serving as a second lieutenant with the Lancashire Fusiliers when he was killed at 9.40 a.m. on the morning of 1 July. His regiment advanced and met German machine gun fire. Leading the first wave of men, Chambers was hit by a bullet in the forehead and killed instantaneously. Serving alongside Chambers was the Ulster Division, which also made its advance through the woods. The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War, which resulted in more than 1.5 million casualties. In all, nearly 60,000 men died on the first day on the British side.

I wish to remember my great uncle also. He was born in Ballinrobe, County Mayo and emigrated to the USA in 1908. He served as a first class private with the US Army, 165th Infantry Regiment. He entered the service in New York and he was killed on 7 March 1918 in northern France. He was 25 years old when he was killed. I have a little poem I would like to read for Members this morning given that tomorrow is 1 July.

In a wood they call the Rouge Bouquet

There is a new-made grave today,

Built by never a spade nor pick

Yet covered with earth ten metres thick.

There lie many fighting men,

Dead in their youthful prime,

Never to laugh nor love again

Nor taste the Summertime.

For Death came flying through the air

And stopped his flight at the dugout stair,

Touched his prey and left them there,

Clay to clay.

He hid their bodies stealthily

In the soil of the land they fought to free

And fled away.

Now over the grave abrupt and clear

Three volleys ring;

And perhaps their brave young spirits hear

The bugle sing:

“Go to sleep!

Go to sleep!

Slumber well where the shell screamed and fell.

Let your rifles rest on the muddy floor,

You will not need them any more.

Danger’s past;

Now at last,

Go to sleep!”

I agree with the call by my colleague, Senator Paddy Burke, to invite Nicola Sturgeon to the House. People seem to be fighting the cause for Scottish independence and its right to have a say over its own destiny but they need to show the same consideration and fight with the same vehemence for our comrades in the North.

Hear, hear.