Ba mhaith liom ar dtús báire iarraidh ar an gCeannaire Gníomhach díospóireacht a bheith againn ar chúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta. I ask for a debate on the Irish language, Gaeltacht and island affairs. It was noted that such a debate would occur in the House but to date it has not occurred. Is it possible to bring the relevant Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, come before the House for that debate?

I add to the congratulations and sentiments of goodwill towards President-elect Trump. I am not particularly shocked by the outcome, to be honest, when we drill down through some of the detail of voter apathy and democratic interchange with the way political correctness, as has been referred to, has gone a bit mad, particularly right through the media, not just in America but across the developed world. The ordinary voter does not really get political correctness and he or she is more concerned by his or her own economic whereabouts. America has an unemployment rate of only 4.9%, which would be the envy of any European country, but people were still disenfranchised in a way so they voted as they did.

There is a message here for political parties and politics in general. As politicians, and particularly leaders in politics, we must stop following the media and instead set the agenda. The politicians are forgetting to listen to the people and instead they are following the melee of media commentary on where a country or society wants to go. They are forgetting to ask or to lead people where they should go. There is a message there for us. We will now see the fallout, and it will extend to this country as well due to the quite naïve decision of the Taoiseach and other Ministers to deny an opportunity to meet Mr. Trump if he had been available to come here as a Republican nominee before the presidential election. The issues remain. We have St. Patrick's Day and there are many Irish citizens living in the United States. It is vital that engagement is instigated with the new Administration with President-elect Trump at an early date.

I ask the Acting Leader to facilitate the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in coming to the House to discuss how those bridges can be built with the new Administration. That will not only see President-elect Trump in the White House but it will also see the Republicans controlling Congress. There are serious issues at stake.

I join other Senators in very much welcoming the lifting of the strike threat by the ASTI and please God there will now be suitable conciliatory talks so the matter can be remediated satisfactorily. Equally, I join other Senators in congratulating President-elect Trump. We have nothing to fear and there is a great relationship between the two countries. I have no doubt the Taoiseach, Deputy Kenny, will be there with him on St. Patrick's Day, as is traditional. I appreciate very much Senator Mulherin's proposal to invite him but I presume, now that he is President-elect, that the Taoiseach will invite him to make a joint address to both Houses of Parliament here. I have no doubt he will speak about his visit to Ireland when they meet, and that could be before St. Patrick's Day. We have much to look forward to, although there are some regrets about the other candidate, with whom we commiserate. We must look forward in a positive way and we do. Events happen. Who was surprised that the pollsters got it so wrong? Look at what happened with Brexit. It is becoming a pattern, is it not? We are going forward with optimism and confidence.

I ask the Acting Leader when it is proposed to invite the Minister of State responsible for defence to the House. The Leader gave a commitment he would be in within the next couple of weeks. I would like a date to be arranged for that, as there are a number of important issues we wish to raise with him. I also welcome the decision by the ASTI to call off its industrial action and to enter discussions with the Department of Education and Skills. As we are all aware, disputes are always sorted out by talking. The teachers have called off the strike and are speaking with the departmental officials. I hope those discussions will be meaningful on the part of the Department. This House should offer whatever encouragement it can to the Minister for Health in cutting off at the pass any threatened industrial action by nurses. They have a very legitimate case and should be listened to. The issue should be dealt with as a matter of urgency before it comes to strike action.

Finally, I join other colleagues in congratulating President-elect Trump on his election as the next President of the United States. I understand the Taoiseach will be in contact with him today to offer his congratulations on behalf of the people of this country. I encourage the Taoiseach to invite President-elect Trump to visit this country as President of the United States of America. There is a very special relationship between the peoples of both countries and I want to see that relationship continue in a positive manner. I hope President-elect Trump will have an open door policy for St. Patrick's Day that has been the tradition for many decades. I support Senator Mulherin's proposal that unless there is a joint address to both the Dáil and Seanad, I would like to see him addressing this House as well. I wish him well. I believe he will be pragmatic and we have already seen a change in tone. I hope that continues and he will take into account everyone living in the United States of America. Our relationship with America is very important to this country and I would like to see it continue.