I thank the 18 Senators who raised matters on the Order of Business. I also thank the groups and Members for their co-operation this morning during the visit of the Scottish First Minister, Ms Sturgeon. As everyone will agree, it was an extraordinary event, one of which we should be proud. I thank the secretariat and staff of the Seanad Office - Mr. Martin Groves and the team - for their co-operation.

I thank all of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas, including the ushers, and staff from the Scottish office for their efforts in ensuring the event was a success.

Senator Ardagh raised the issue of the Orkambi drug and the importance of it. The Minister for Health is to hold a briefing on this issue with the spokespeople on health. I have asked that Members of the Seanad be included in that briefing. It is important to recognise that this is a stressful time for the families, and in particular the parents, of young people who are in need of Orkambi. All of us want to see our loved ones treated. The drug company in question, Vertex, needs to come to the table. It is also important to put on record that the drug works in only a percentage of cases. The drug company has a duty of care to work with the Department of Health and the HSE on the issues of-----

Shared risk.

-----affordability and risk-sharing in relation to the cost of the drug. The Minister for Health is engaging on this very sensitive matter. The cost of high-tech drugs is an issue about which we need to have a conversation but it is not one on which we should be pitting people against each other. I am happy to engage further with Senator Ardagh on the issue. Professor Michael Barry of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics has made his views on this matter very clear. It is important that Vertex reconsiders its position-----

Hear, hear.

-----and puts forward a proposal on the cost and pricing of this drug that represents value for money for the health service, patients and the taxpayer. As I said, the Minister for Health is currently engaged on this issue. I hope that a resolution can be reached soon.

Vertex is profiteering.

Senator Boyhan called for a debate on the refugee crisis. I am happy to ask the relevant Minister to come to the House. The Senator is correct that it is an important matter in respect of which we should not seek to obfuscate or dilute our responsibility. To be fair to the Minister, she has never flinched from that responsibility, nor has the State. This is about ensuring that we do what is right. The State will not be found wanting in that regard.

Senators Gavan, Norris and Mulherin raised the issue of the passing of Fidel Castro. The death of Fidel Castro has illustrated that he is as large in death as he was in life. He was a complex person. We all have different views about Fidel Castro. What is clear is that he was a major force in the 20th century. He did undoubtedly pursue a model of delivery of education and health in his country that has found favour with some but there are other aspects of his actions that must be questioned. However, this is not the time to do that. We should allow him to be mourned by those who supported him. His denial of freedom of expression and free elections in Cuba and his suppression of opposition and persecution of men and women of the LGBT community leaves a landscape that I do not salute. In death, we should mourn-----

There have been several masters degrees written about the man.

Please allow the Leader to respond without interruption.

Long before I conclude here there will be further commentary elsewhere. I do not intend to fall into the trap of condemning the President or commenting on what he said. The President is a long time supporter of Cuba and Fidel Castro, as is his entitlement. I have no issue with that.

Senators Kelleher and Colm Burke raised the issue of gynaecological and maternity services at Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH. It is important that CUMH and the HSE work together on an action plan and roadmap to ensure the delivery of babies and women's health are not undermined or threatened. This will require continued dialogue. We would all welcome the delivery of a safe model of maternity and gynaecological services at CUH maternity. I hope that as a result of the publication of the letters and the consultation and communication that will take place after that, there will be a resolution to this issue.

Like Senator Humphreys, I welcome the signing of the agreement between Holles Street hospital, the Department, the HSE and St. Vincent's hospital. The Minister has worked hard on the agreement. The development of the project is vital for the future of maternity services in this country and this city. The delivery of a world class, state-of-the-art new maternity hospital for women and their babies, young children and young infants is a priority for the Department and the Minister.

Senator Byrne raised the topical issue of Ireland being ranked ninth out of 49 countries for mathematics. I congratulate everyone involved in the project, particularly the people who teach maths in schools.

Senators Gallagher and Feighan raised the issue of passports. The year 2016 has been a record breaking year with 700,000 Irish passports issued. It has resulted in a huge increase in workload for the Passport Office. The increase illustrates the importance placed on having an Irish passport. What an Irish passport gives to people must be saluted and commended.

I join both Senators in their call for more passport offices. My city of Cork has a passport office and I have seen how beneficial the service has been to the region and its people. Even with a post-Brexit scenario I do not see why we could not have passport offices in counties Monaghan and Donegal or anywhere we find a suitable location. Without going too far, the scheme could be rolled out like the decentralisation model.

Oh, God.

It is important to recognise that passport offices should be brought to the people. I do not see why we could not do so in the future.

A few old people can vote there as well.

Senators Craughwell, Conway-Walsh and Colm Burke raised the issue of the HPV vaccine. I have no issue with arranging a debate on the matter as former Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children that carried out a substantial piece of work. I do not wish to denigrate or take lightly the concerns and views that were expressed this afternoon in the House by the Senators, or the views expressed by the families. Cervical cancer is a killer and its prevalence is growing in the female population, in particular among young women. There has been a lot of misinformation on the vaccination programme. The vaccine, and vaccination in general, prevents the risk of cancer; a fact we must underline in our approach.

That is why we need empirical evidence.

A huge amount of empirical evidence was given to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children that I chaired.

That is what I said.

A lot of evidence has been given to the committee since I left the position of Chair. Let us consider the whole issue.

As many as 250 million vaccines have been administered worldwide, 660,000 of which have been administered in Ireland. In Australia there has been a 70% reduction in the level of cervical cancer for females who availed of the vaccine. I understood and have heard the testimony of the children, young women, young girls and parents involved. I do not belittle their testimony and understand their frustration at how their world has completely changed but vaccination programmes work. The decline in the take-up of the HPV vaccination is a source of worry for us for the future. I am happy to arrange a debate on the matter in the House and will invite the Minister to attend because we have nothing to fear. If there are issues to address in regard to the comments made by the Senators opposite then I wish to adapt. It is important that we present the full works and that is what I hope we can do.

Well done.

Senator Feighan raised the issue of air ambulances. It is important to recognise that air ambulances have saved lives, which is welcome.

I neglected to mention Senator Norris when I mentioned Fidel Castro. In terms of pensions, I am happy to invite the Minister for Social Protection to discuss the matter. I suggest the Senator raise the matter with him when we discuss the Social Welfare Bill later today. Pensions are important and we should not have the anomaly of a two-tier pension system.

I thank the Leader.

Senator Horkan mentioned the ongoing negotiations between the Government and the ASTI. The talks lasted into the night and continued early into the morning. All of us would welcome a conclusion of talks, including the students seated in the Visitors Gallery.

I apologise to Senator Warfield, as I missed his remarks last week in my reply to the appointments to the board of IMMA. Knowing the Minister and knowing personally some of the people appointed, both men and women, they are people of the highest quality. We are all about appointing people with competence to boards, and in particular if there are women who can be appointed it is important to do so, not because of their gender but because of their competency and ability. I thank the Senator for raising the issue.

He also raised the Bill on extending the franchise to young people aged 16 and 17. If I am correct it is due to be taken during Private Members' time this week.

No, it will be after Christmas.

It is something we need to debate. I was on the Constitutional Convention that debated the issue, and we heard the First Minister of Scotland this afternoon speak about the importance of young people being engaged. It is important that we educate young people in their civic duty and in their responsibility before they vote, as they vote and after they vote.

Senator Mulherin raised the defined benefit pension schemes, an issue she raised previously. The Minister for Social Protection will be in the House this afternoon for the debate on the Social Welfare Bill, but I believe we should also have a debate on pensions in the new year.

Senator Ruane raised the issue of divesting from the use of fossil fuels. I would be happy for the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, to come to the House for a debate on the issue.

Senator Ned O'Sullivan has returned to an issue he raised previously, namely, that former President, Mary Robinson, will not be availing of tax break. She is to be commended on that. I welcome the fact that she is donating her archives to the State, as did Senator Norris. That gives rise to a question, however. Having visited a number of the presidential libraries in America, which are private institutions that raise funds for the operation of the libraries, I do not see anything wrong with having a national presidential library or a separate national library for taoisigh. I am all for the donation of State papers and keeping important papers in the country but an issue we must consider is how we can ensure access by ordinary people - students, postgraduate students, and those of us who are anoraks, if one likes, to read those papers. Undoubtedly, the presidency of Mary Robinson was an exciting time. She was the first female President and I am sure her papers will be of considerable value to the State and the people of Ireland.

Senator Davitt raised the ongoing claims against heritage and wildlife parks, facilities and services. It is a major issue for the OPW and those who are charged with responsibility for the area. We saw in the recent report on insurance from the Oireachtas committee on finance how people claim ad nauseam. We must have a major debate about insurance and insurance claims and how people claim for certain things that perhaps are not the fault of the OPW in this case or the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Serial claimers are a serious problem.

Yes. We will come back to the issue in the new year. I again thank all Members for their contributions this morning during the visit of the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon. I thank the staff in particular for their co-operation and great work. We are very fortunate in this House that we have people in the Seanad Office and ushers who work above and beyond the call of duty. Today did not happen because we flicked a switch and the lights came on. It happened because of great people working behind the scenes and I thank them. I also thank Senator Paddy Burke, who made the proposal to invite the First Minister to the House today. If he did not make the proposal and the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, through you, a Chathaoirligh, did not support it, then perhaps we would not have had a very positive visit of the first Head of Government to speak in the Seanad. I thank everybody.