I thank the 18 Senators who contributed on the Order of Business.

I join Senator Tim Lombard in paying tribute to the late councillor Claire Cullinane and sympathising with her family on her very sudden death. She was a very powerful presence on Cork County Council and left an indelible mark.

Senator Mark Daly raised the case of Ibrahim Halawa. We all share his concern and frustration. It is disappointing to note that the trial has been postponed again. However, a few things in the Senator's analysis such as the lack of an intervention by the Government need to be clarified. On 12 November and again on 17 November the Taoiseach wrote to the President of Egypt urging him to return our citizen to Ireland without delay. On 12 November the Taoiseach spoke to the Egyptian ambassador and expressed concern about the delay. He also underlined the Government's strong desire for Ibrahim Halawa to be returned to Ireland as a matter of urgency. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to liaise with the family and the embassy in Cairo. It also maintains close and ongoing communication with lawyers in Egypt. In the Dáil the Taoiseach has expressed his frustration and annoyance at the constant adjournments and delays in the trial. The Government, through the Taoiseach, has been in direct contact with President el-Sisi on numerous occasions and the two men have met face to face to discuss the case on two occasions, as well as speaking on the telephone. We all join the Senator in wanting to see the matter resolved as this is an Irish citizen who needs to be brought back to his country. We need to work together, as we have done in the past, to ensure that will happen.

Senators Mark Daly, Michael McDowell, Rose Conway-Walsh, Frances Black, Aidan Davitt, Kevin Humphreys and Diarmuid Wilson referred to the housing and rental strategy which was launched yesterday. There will be no rush from this side of the House in the way we operate. Last night the select committee completed Committee Stage of the Bill. Report and Final Stages will be taken in the Dáil tomorrow and, perhaps, on Friday. There was an opportunity to debate the Bill in this House on Friday, but, in the interests of Members and given the importance of the legislation, I took the decision to have it debated on Tuesday afternoon instead.

It is the intention, provided the Bill is passed in the Dáil, to bring it to us on Tuesday when we can sit for as long as we want to discuss it. There will be no time limit and we can sit until the wee hours of the morning until the debate is finished. It is important to recognise that between now and then there is a need for much discussion between all sides on the Bill. I am sure all Members have a view and that the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government will be ready to work with everyone to ensure the Bill that is returned to the House will be the best it possibly can be. The Bill is important. It is somewhat cheap to say the new provisions are about landlords or protecting certain people. They are not; rather, they are about creating certainty, security and ensuring we will have supply and standards and that the Residential Tenancies Board will be beefed up to ensure tenants' rights are protected. None of us involved in politics wants to see people without houses or sleeping on the streets or in hotel rooms. We all want people to be provided with housing, whether through the rental market or social or private housing. The language used on all sides of the House is important. Nobody flies a flag for any particular band of sectoral interests. This is all about people who require housing.

Senator Rose Conway-Walsh again questioned my understanding of economics, but that is okay. We will have a debate about the school transport scheme when the relevant Minister can come to the House once the Senator understands Sinn Féin's history of high taxes and spending is the bedrock from which she comes.

Senator Denis Landy mentioned the very important issue of wind farms and matters before the courts. I will be happy for the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, to come to the House in the new year to discuss the matter.

Senators Gabrielle McFadden, Ray Butler and Tim Lombard referred to the situation in Syria. It is fair to say we are all appalled by the lack of leadership in what is happening. George Osborne summed it up well yesterday when he spoke about a vacuum of leadership. We have not had the leadership needed to bring a resolution to the region. We all stand united in condemnation of the attacks by the al-Assad regime and its allies. It is time the international community joined together to ensure the barbaric behaviour will come to an end. There is no justification for it, good, bad or indifferent. We have seen images of defenceless people being killed in their homeland. We need to see the targeted attacks being brought to an end. That requires international leaders to stand up and be counted. I hope the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade will do so on behalf of the Government.

Senators Paul Gavan and Colm Burke referred to private nursing homes. I will not go into that issue today, as it was discussed yesterday, but I will be happy for the relevant Minister to come to the House to deal with the matter.

Senator Neale Richmond made a proposal concerning the visits of Heads of State and Government. It is a very worthwhile proposal that should be considered by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. I will be happy to have that discussion with the committee through the good offices of the Cathaoirleach.

Senator Aidan Davitt referred to housing in County Westmeath, a matter about which I will be happy to have a discussion. The Senator could table a Commencement matter to discuss it.

Senator Kevin Humphreys referred to Airbnb, separate from the rental strategy. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government spoke on radio about the matter, but the Senator has made a very good point that needs to be addressed.

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh referred to University Hospital Galway. I will be happy to have the Minister for Health address the issue. The Senator cannot table a Commencement matter before Christmas because the Minister will be unable to come to the House before the holidays to discuss it. I am aware that he is due to travel to Galway. I am not sure of the exact date, but I do know that he is planning to visit a number of places.

He is due to come to Galway on 28 December.

The Senator is ahead of the curve.

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh must have been invited.

Absolutely, but normally we are not.

I hope I have given Senator Diarmuid Wilson an answer on the allocation of adequate time to discuss the issue raised by him. He also referred to narcolepsy. Yesterday the former Senator, Deputy Michael D'Arcy, tabled a Topical Issue on the matter. I watched the debate. As a former Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I was involved in some work on the issue. Senator Diarmuid Wilson is correct in that regard. A small amount of money, €1.6 million, has been allocated. We should work together to ensure-----

To clarify, the money is for adult services.

It is affecting-----

It should be ring-fenced.

As the Senator said, it is a debilitating illness. It is something that people perhaps do not understand until it affects them. Listening to those who appeared before the committee, one could not but have been struck by their testimony. It is an issue on which we will work together.

Senator Kieran O'Donnell referred to new politics. We should all call on the members of Sinn Féin to ask their leader to co-operate with An Garda Síochána. Senator Paul Gavan shook his head in disdain when the matter was raised, but it is of fundamental importance to us all, whether we are involved in new or old politics. A member of the security forces, a prison officer, was killed in the line of duty. Whether it happened during or after the Troubles, it cannot be condoned or supported. We should all work together to ensure we obtain answers for the family. I am sure, as a trade unionist, Senator Paul Gavan will agree with me that the family deserve answers. Let us be fair. There is a need to provide answers for the family who have lost a loved one. I appeal to the Senator who is decent to work with us to ensure that will happen.

Senator Frank Feighan referred to Brexit. The matter may be raised at the Committee on Procedure and Privileges today. There is a need for clarity.

I think I have covered the points raised by everyone.

The Leader did not.

My apologies to the Senator. I knew I had missed something. In fairness, he who waits the longest gets to hear the piper play the tune. I hope we will all be here as long as he has to celebrate the day. I congratulate him. As Leader, I am happy that we will not oppose his proposed legislation. Equally, I hope, in the spirit of new politics, he will support the Government's intervention on the issue of Roscommon University Hospital and Senator Frank Feighan.

I think Senator Denis Landy said that where there was a will, there was a relative. That is my view. I rarely comment on matters on which the Leader responds. I understand the point made cogently by Senator Michael McDowell was that the Bill that would be returned to the House next week had already passed all Stages in it. There will be limited scope for amendments. I am not saying, however, that there will be limited scope for debate. However, as I understand the rules and regulations, subject to being corrected, while we will not entirely be in a straitjacket, there will be limited room for Members to table amendments. We will be somewhat but not entirely curtailed. I understand that is the point he made. We will sit next week. I will not, however, pre-empt the debate or what might happen next Tuesday.