I thank the 19 Senators who raised matters on the Order of Business. I do not mean to single out Senator Catherine Ardagh, but the intervention made by the father of the House was inappropriate. I defend the right of Senators to raise any matter they want on the Order of Business and to do so in whatever manner they believe is appropriate. Senator Catherine Ardagh has always been very gracious on the Order of Business and does not try to score political points. She has the dual task of representing her party and her local area. Like the rest of us, she is entitled to raise any matter she wants. How we do it is up to us. The father of the House should consider this.

Some of us are new in the House, while others are new to the Oireachtas. It is a matter of finding one's feet. We are all learning and I make mistakes every day of the week. In fairness to Senator Catherine Ardagh, therefore, I defend her right to do her job as best she can. She has been a very willing partner with other leaders in managing the business of the House, for which I thank everyone, during this term. I will be very happy to have the Minister responsible come to the House to discuss the issue she raised about people with a disability and accommodation. If she wants to raise it as a Commencement matter, she can.

I commend Senator Billy Lawless and thank the Cathaoirleach for his graciousness to him. It is a wonderful day. Cuirim mór fáilte roimh an Seanadóir nua. He represents not just the diaspora but all of us in the House. We are very happy to have him here and I look forward to the contribution he will make. We wish him well following his hip replacement operation. He has certainly not lost his zeal for life after it. We should all reflect on his remarks and how we can work to bring our emigrants home, as well as on how to bring investment to the country. I look forward to working with him in that regard.

Senator Rose Conway-Walsh raised an important and sensitive issue about a person named Mary. If she wants to give me the details, I will happily give them to the Minister for Health. However, we should be careful in the language we use in referring to premature deaths because, as we all know from our work, it is a sensitive issue. There is increased funding in the budget, while there are more GPs than ever before. There is greater access to primary care services and we are moving towards having a universal health care system. As I said, if the Senator gives me the information, I will be happy to bring it to the Minister's attention for her.

Senator Frances Black raised the issue of accommodation and housing. We will have the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, in the House this evening for statements on the subject.

Senator Aodhán Ó Riordáin referred to the inner city, which the Taoiseach is visiting today. The Taoiseach has established a task force and a working group. I agree that it is imperative that we empower people through education and training, by finding them jobs and investment in their local areas. I agree with the Senator completely that we must give them the tools and skills to live an alternative life to the one some of them are living. It is most important to have people in work.

Senator John O'Mahony raised the issue of pay-per-view and the availability of Gaelic games, in particular, but also other sports which it was important to make available on free-to-air and terrestrial television services. I will be happy to have both the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, come to the House to discuss the issue.

Senator Keith Swanick referred to autism services. If he wants to give me the details of the particular case mentioned, I will provide them for the Minister responsible. I am surprised by the remarks made because the last Government increased the funding for speech and language therapy services. Speech and language and occupational therapists have been recruited and we have a plan to deal with people with disabilities, particularly young people and those with autism.

To respond to Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill, I would love to see a cross-party group come together in the Seanad to promote sport and its importance in all of our lives. I will certainly invite the relevant Minister to come to the House to discuss the issue. We all join in wishing our sports stars, including our athletes, boxers and other Olympians, every success in Rio de Janeiro. It will be an extraordinary opportunity for us as a nation to showcase our sports heroes. I wish each and every one of them every success. I had the privilege of being at the Olympic Games at Atlanta. It is a fantastic feeling to watch an Irish athlete compete and almost win a medal. To see someone in the green jersey do so well gives us a great sense of pride. I also wish our Paralympians well this year because sport unites us, as we saw at the European championships. Sport and its benefits are important and I hope to arrange the debate sought in the autumn.

Senator Frank Feighan raised the issue of Brexit and the potential in that regard. I will come back to the points made by Senator Neale Richmond, but it is an important issue at which we must look again. Senator Kieran O'Donnell made the point that we could play a role. Perhaps the Committee on Procedure and Privileges might discuss the matter.

Senator Robbie Gallagher raised the important issue of the charities sector and highlighted the anomaly in its regulation in the sense that things are becoming more and more bureaucratic for residents' associations, sports clubs and charity organisations in terms of red tape and bureaucracy. While we all want to see regulation, it makes life more difficult for small, voluntary groups. I hope we can see the matter being rectified in time.

Senator James Reilly referred to Tusla. I agree with him on the issue of guidelines. At a time when more and more people are having children later in life and presenting to become adoptive parents, the guidelines need to be looked at. I will certainly address the Senator's request for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, to come to the House to discuss the issue.

Senator Paul Gavan referred to the Low Pay Commission and the report published yesterday. The balance we have to strike is between the employer and the employee and maintaining competitiveness and increasing the number of jobs created, while ensuring people have a decent income. The recommendations made by the commission are independent of the Government. There was a wide variety of people involved in the commission.

That is a handy cop-out.

I do not agree with the Senator, as somebody who has been a very active trade unionist.

There is no balance in recommending an increase of 10 cent.

My point is that if one looks at the composition of the Low Pay Commission, they are people with huge experience from a wide cross-section of society, including ICTU, with which the Senator has worked closely.

She disagrees with a rise of 10 cent.

Please allow the Leader to respond.

The Minister is going to look at the commission's report. The commission considered a wide variety of data before reaching recommendations. I was not part of it. I certainly want to see people have a decent wage, but I also want to see the country open for business and being competitive. That is the balance we must strike.

Senator Diarmuid Wilson raised the critically important issue of Youthreach. I commend him for his work in the area. He has been a very strong advocate and innovative when it comes to further education for young people. As a former director of adult education, I agree that Youthreach is something we must continue to pursue and fund adequately. I will ask the Minister for Education and Skills to come to the House to discuss the issue.

Senator Neale Richmond, as always, made a timely and important contribution on Brexit, as well as on the Presidency of the European Union in 2017. I agree with him that it would be a huge honour, given the way in which the country performed when it last held the Presidency, to have it bestowed on us again. I will certainly take up the matter with the relevant Minister. I hope I speak for the House in saying it is our view that the Taoiseach should make the case in Brussels for Ireland to fill the vacancy in 2017.

Senator Fintan Warfield referred to Galway and the arts. We wish it well as capital of culture. As a member of Cork City Council when that city held the honour, I note that it is not only a great opportunity for the arts but also the wider city. I take on board the Senator's point about the Irish Film Board and funding and will ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Heather Humphreys, to come to the House to discuss the issue. I am not sure why the Cinemobile has been removed. If the Senator gives me the details, I will forward them to the Minister.

Senator Michelle Mulherin referred to the ongoing issues for the Saolta health group. I will be happy to take up the matter with the Minister for Health and have him come to the House to discuss it.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill raised the issue of HSE accountability. As a former member of the HSE forum, I agree fully with him that such fora are complete talking shops. I remind him, however, that it was his party leader who, as Minister for Health, got rid of political democracy in HSE fora. I am not being political, but it was a huge mistake. There is no accountability and the forums are just talking shops as a result. They let the executive away with a great deal. No mandate is provided for public representatives to question it and hold it to account. I will be happy to support the Senator if there is anything we can do to make it happen in a different way. That is part of the problem. To be fair, there are very good people working in the HSE, including many strong and vibrant managers, but they need to be held to account, either at local level, on a quarterly basis at the Oireachtas committee or before the Committee of Public Accounts. I strongly believe the local dimension of the old health boards is missing. We need to go back to that model. I will be happy to pursue the matter with the Senator.

Tá an-suim ag an Aire Stáit teacht chuig an Teach seo tar éis na laethanta saoire le haghaidh díospóireachta ar an teanga, an straitéis agus cursaí Gaeltachta. The Minister of State, Deputy Seán Kyne, is willing to come to the House. We had hoped to bring him here before the summer recess, but, unfortunately, the legislative programme in the Houses precluded him from coming.

Senator Martin Conway raised the wider issue of flooding, not just in County Clare, to which he rightly referred, but also in many other parts of the country. I have spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Canney, about the matter and he is willing to come to the House at a later stage to discuss it.

It is important that we receive an update on the plans put in place since the flooding of last year and earlier this year. I will be happy to have the matter debated in the autumn.

I did not respond on two issues raised yesterday. Senator Maria Byrne raised the issue of ash dieback disease. The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Andrew Doyle, gave me a note yesterday stating he had put in place measures to address both the impact of the disease and the future of the hurley. Those of us who come from hurling counties, although they may not be strong at present, realise it is important that we preserve our native games.

I hope they will come again.

We will.

Senator John Dolan requested that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, appear in the House to discuss the UN report on people with disabilities. I will be happy to have her come to the House before Christmas.