Like many others, last night I watched "RTE Investigates: Living on the List" and was shocked and horrified by the programme's content. It is unbelievable that, in this day and age, people are left to suffer on hospital waiting lists to the extent that they contemplate suicide. The programme unveiled that waiting lists might be significantly longer than those published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, with a pre-admit list comprising 23,000 patients and a pre-planned list of approximately 60,000 patients not included in the NTPF's monthly reports.

Last year Deputy Billy Kelleher of my party raised his concerns about waiting times for children suffering from scoliosis. I share his concern and believe this situation highlights the need to have the new national children's hospital constructed without further delay. Obviously, there are concerns about costings, but they must be ironed out in order that children have an efficient and state-of-the-art facility to attend. They deserve nothing less. I have voiced my support numerous times for the national children's hospital, as it is a necessity in easing the waiting lists facing children with scoliosis and those suffering from other ailments.

The new orthopaedic unit has opened at Crumlin children's hospital. One would imagine that it would be fully operational and ready to help ease the suffering of children with scoliosis on waiting lists. However, the theatre is not open because of a scarcity of theatre nurses due to the Government's bad planning. This must be remedied immediately. Issues surrounding staff shortages, the cost of implants and other bottlenecks in the health system must be addressed and the recruitment of new nurses must be a priority. Bad planning must be rectified immediately and those suffering on waiting lists, including children, must be given an opportunity to attend consultants and have their surgery scheduled.

Yesterday was international day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, FGM. It is estimated that more than 2,500 women and girls living in Ireland have undergone FGM according to research conducted in 2008 by the national network of African women living in Ireland. It is a major issue that I must raise in the Chamber.

It involves the mutilation of female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is a serious violation of the human rights of females. FGM has been inflicted on approximately 200 million females and the horrific procedure is generally performed on young girls between infancy and the age of 15 years. I reiterate the calls made by numerous non-governmental organisations for its elimination. Awareness of the practice is key. As such, it is necessary to raise the issue today.

On the issue I highlighted last week about children and their mental health, it is important that the House take a moment to reflect on last night's RTE programme, "RTE Investigates: Living on the List". It illustrated the physical and emotional burden on sufferers waiting for long periods for life-altering operations and the impact of the waiting periods on their families and friends as they watched them suffer. It also documented how, as time passed, the condition of patients worsened. The long-term impact can be far-reaching. One of the most disturbing findings of the investigation was that there were two unpublished waiting lists for health treatment in Ireland. I second the words of the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, when he stated this was wrong and something over which the Government could not stand. He also added that he was ashamed. What shames me as a Senator is that there are very sick children on waiting lists for mental health treatment, inlcuding for early onset psychosis, anorexia, bulimia, self-harm and addiction. They are equally vulnerable, but not once was the waiting list of these children mentioned last night. What shames me even more is that not only did they not get a look in last night, or this morning when the Government spoke about the need for extra beds and staff in the health service, but there was no mention that last year in Ireland 17,794 children had been referred to the CAMHS and that 5,379 children had not been dealt with at all. The waiting lists for mental health treatment are extremely serious and equally as critical as the devastating interviews we saw last night. Each month, approximately 2,500 children await assessments. Almost half of these children will not be seen during the first year, while some of them will not be seen after a year. What strikes me as bizarre is that the national service plan published in December 2016 warned us that the number of children on the waiting list would increase in the coming 12 months. Why are mental health sufferers second-class citizens? Why is the same urgency not given to dealing with their situation? It appears that this and previous Governments have operated a two-tier system of health care which ignores and neglects children and adolescents suffering from a mental health illness. In the 1990s the then Government got rid of the asylums. We opened up the doors of our Victorian hospitals and integrated those with mental health issues into society. I am beginning to wonder whether this institutional deconstruction had any effect on our attitudes and ideas about mental health services. Is anyone becoming a little exhausted with the talk about reform and the absence of a discussion on delivery? Is it not a source of outrage that the administration is not giving the public a full and frank image of waiting lists? Is it not a source of disappointment that once again mental health service waiting lists are completely ignored?

I refer to last night's programme on RTE. I commend RTE for the service it has done in highlighting the problem of waiting lists. It is not a new phenomenon to us as we deal with it every day, as we have for the past few years. It is deplorable that Minister for Health after Minister for Health, including Deputy Micheál Martin, Mary Harney, Senator James Reilly and the current incumbent, has presided over a situation where thousands and thousands of people throughout the country wait in pain without being able to obtain treatment.

The crux of the matter is if I need an MRI scan tomorrow morning and produce €250 or €300, I will have the same MRI scan on the same equipment with the same consultant within ten days, but if I do not have the money, I will have to wait in pain. The people who have been responsible for delivering that health service should hang their heads in shame.

I want to raise an industrial dispute issue in my area. Hastings Garage in Westport recently imposed compulsory redundancies on three members of staff. Ex gratia payments were recommended by the Labour Court for all three, with one employee to be given the option of returning to employment at the garage. The company has made it clear that it will not abide by the second ruling concerning payments. No explanation was given as to how the redundancies were chosen. The Government’s industrial relations strategy is contradictory and utterly useless. These industrial disputes can often be viewed as legal proceedings ongoing in the background. In reality, they have led to great hardship for families, many of whom are already struggling. The Government has been at pains to instruct Bus Éireann workers and others to go to the Labour Court and abide by its recommendations. Here we have a case in which a ruling has been made but one party refuses to abide by the decision. The Government cannot hide behind the excuse of urging engagement with the Labour Court, yet in other circumstances remain completely silent. I would like to have the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation explain to us in the House exactly what the Government's strategy is to deal with industrial unrest. It does not, however, have to be that Minister. I know that the Taoiseach is acutely aware of this dispute within his constituency. There is a basic need to stand up for fairness and to be seen to do so. We have enough problems in creating and keeping jobs in the west. It is vital that fair play be seen to prevail in this situation. I urge the Government to intervene to ensure the right thing will be done for the workers and that the company will be made to adhere to the Labour Court's ruling.

The Sunday Independent stated a leaked report from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform emphasised a number of pressures on the State's income and expenditure. However, it made no mention of 600,000 people with disabilities and mental health needs, even though it is acknowledged that the people concerned are in the throes of a long-term crisis. There are public service pay pressures and a deep housing crisis, which also affects people with disabilities. We have the health issues that have been exposed again today and the Brexit challenges. The glaring fact is that there is an ongoing crisis for the 600,000 people mentioned and their families, a crisis long acknowledged by successive Governments.

The troika left town at the end of 2013 and the recession ended that year. People with disabilities are now, in the fourth year following the recession, still feeling its worst effects, with little or no hope the situation will change. Last week the CSO confirmed that the modest recovery had not extended to people with disabilities, for whom poverty rates are increasing, while, thankfully, they are decreasing for the general population. Four years after the troika left Ireland, more than half of the people living with disabilities are not able to afford four essential items: adequate heating; two pairs of strong shoes; a warm coat; and meat a few times a week. These are the facts in Ireland today. The SILC figures released last week show that people with disabilities are at twice the risk of living in poverty, at just under 35%, as opposed to 19% for the general population. These are stark facts. The incidence of people with disabilities in consistent poverty has increased by 8%, while the deprivation rate has increased by just under 2%. The number at risk of poverty has increased by almost 10%. While, thankfully, the rate is falling for the general population, it is going the wrong way for too many.

This crisis is absolutely out of control. It is going the wrong way. It needs to be acknowledged and tackled.

I pressed the Taoiseach in September last year, just before the budget, to prioritise the welcome but modest funding then available in the budget for people with disabilities, but that did not happen. There are real pressures in other areas, but this, too, is a real issue and if the Government is honest and honourable about its commitments to people with disabilities, the upcoming budget in October will have to have a real, meaningful, cross-Government package for people with disabilities. Will the Leader ask the Taoiseach to come to the House to set out what he and his Government intend to do to make this a reality for the coming year?

I welcome the announcement that the Government is establishing a commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations of a campaign within the Garda to discredit whistleblowers within the force. I know that announcement has been made following a Cabinet meeting today. It is in keeping with the recommendation made by Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill in his inquiry earlier last year.

I call on the Leader to arrange a debate on US immigration policy in the light of the restrictions announced by US President Trump last week. I was among many people who protested outside the US embassy on Thursday evening. The numbers present in the lashing rain showed the immense concern among Irish people about the nature of the new restrictions President Trump had announced, notably the restrictions on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. This is not just about that restriction. We saw the chairman of Ornua, formerly the Irish Dairy Board, talking about difficulties that he had had since President Trump took office in getting Irish graduates into the United States for the first time. The new immigration policy in the United States is a much bigger issue than just that restriction. It is welcome that over the weekend the US courts effectively brought about the suspension of the ban. I am conscious that the ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing the appeal being brought by the US Department of Justice this afternoon. I hope the US justice system will be robust enough to withstand the dreadful critiques we have seen from President Trump and the attacks he has made on members of the judiciary. I hope we will see the most recent immigration restrictions lifted or indefinitely suspended. If the restrictions remain in place, I will join the leader of the Labour Party, Deputy Brendan Howlin, in calling on the Taoiseach to stay away from the White House on St. Patrick's Day. There is immense concern among Irish people about the nature of these restrictions and the Taoiseach would do well to note their concerns.

It is not a decision for any one man to make.

Please allow Senator Ivana Bacik to continue, without interruption.

I hope we will see the US justice system, in which I have great faith, as I am sure everyone does, upholding the decisions of the lower courts, having seen the joyful scenes at the weekend in which people were reunited and able to travel. We would love to see those scenes replicated, not the absolute chaos, confusion, distress and trauma caused for so many people as a result of the restrictions.

Well said.

There is huge human trauma caused by such a chaotic announcement of restrictions, apart from their content.

I renew a call I made to the Leader for a debate on the situation Syria. Perhaps in all of the international news about President Trump the focus has moved from the situation in Syria. This week Amnesty International accused the Syrian regime of hanging 13,000 people at an infamous prison, Saydnaya, near Damascus. This appalling report was yesterday utterly dismissed by the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, in a comment to Belgian media. The English translation refers to Mr. al-Assad being utterly dismissive of the United Nations, international tribunals and any attempt to make his regime accountable for war crimes committed. I again call on the Leader to arrange a debate on the situation in Syria.

I concur with Senator Ivana Bacik and others in commending the Government for finally implementing the recommendations of Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill's committee and actually going ahead with the establishment of a commission of investigation into the suggested ill-treatment of whistleblowers. Whistleblowers are the primary source of a lot of the reforms we are seeing and this issue needs to be dealt with once and for all.

Like others and the Minister, we were all horrified by what was unveiled last night on the "RTE Investigates" programme. It is outrageous that successive Ministers have been given information that is not accurate and that figures, waiting lists and reports are not accurate. That is not good enough. It is not good that a Minister should receive the wrong information. Effectively, it is a case of somebody lying. We need a serious investigation in the HSE into why the Minister and previous Ministers were given the wrong information. Heads should roll. How can a Minister make a case to the Government for extra funding if he or she does not have the full facts? On the money required to get the health service up to a standard over which people can stand, a significant increase in funding is required. We need a debate about having no tax cuts for the next number of years. The extra resources that would become available as a result of not having tax cuts should be ring-fenced for capital expenditure in health services. Most decent human beings and taxpayers would be quite happy to see their taxes increased by a percentage point or two in order to solve this problem once and for all. Every year since I have been elected, Senators have stood up prior to the budget and looked for tax and universal social charge reductions and tax breaks. That day must be gone. We need to see a significant increase in health spending to deal with what we saw last night on television.

I agree with Senator Martin Conway about the information being provided for Ministers. Mark Twain said "facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable," but when someone does not have the facts, there is nothing he or she can do about it. While heads should roll, in a modern democracy, the fact that the lists are not accurate means that the HSE has a lot to answer for, but that does not mean that the Minister is not the person in charge. The former Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, appeared here many times and one would have sworn that he was a commentator on the health service instead of Minister for Health. Nobody can point to any reforms he made when he was Minister.

The leader of the DUP is also a person who seems to be unable to grasp facts as they apply to the real world. She is not, as we know, a woman of detail because even though she was in charge of the Department that promoted and signed off on the renewable energy scheme, she said she did not realise the devil was in the detail and that, in reality, she was giving away hundreds of millions of pounds to people to literally burn. She was not very good on facts when she said yesterday that more people in Northern Ireland-----

Senator Paul Coghlan is interrupting a lot today and in interrupting he is delaying the entire process.

I will start again for the benefit-----

That is not allowed.

On the ability of the leader of the DUP to grasp facts, she does not seem to understand her Department was in charge of signing off on the renewable energy scheme and that she has burned £500 million on the scheme to the point where I am informed by people in Northern Ireland that they are not even burning the pellets they are being paid to burn. They are actually taking the pellets south and reselling them. That is enterprising and I am sure the DUP would love that type of enterprise. The leader of the DUP also said something yesterday that was not a fact either. She said more people in Northern Ireland spoke Polish than Irish. That is not true. There are 30,000 Polish speakers and 105,000 people who speak Irish. She did not seem to understand the most important fact of all when she announced the DUP's policies and said she did not support an Irish language Act and would not see one implemented. It is part of an international agreement.

That is a fact. It is the St. Andrew's Agreement which should be implemented. However, it seems the DUP wants to roll back on an agreement to which it signed up. Ms Foster does not seem to have much of a grasp of the facts. It is deplorable that the DUP is rolling back on its commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrew's Agreement.

Finally-----

The Senator is one minute over the limit. He has five seconds.

The state of Israel is taking over Palestinian land and building houses on it. It is a deplorable act by a democracy. We do not expect much of Syria or Iraq, but we expect a lot more of the state of Israel.

The Senator makes four minutes out of two.

If only my colleague would leave me alone.

He only took five seconds.

I said one word.

No interruptions, please. The Senator has interrupted three times. All he is doing is inciting the Senator sitting opposite him to continue. He is not helping the Chair.

I also refer to the "RTE Investigates" programme, for which I thank RTE, as previous speakers have done. It has done a great service to the State. We need to deal with the facts. I ask the Minister for Health ti come to the House to explain the relationships between him, the HSE, the National Treatment Purchase Fund and the Department of Health. It is a complex web. We cannot lay blame without all of the facts. We need to see what is the role of the National Treatment Purchase Fund. While I note and welcome the Government's commitment to provide additional funds and resources for the fund both this year and next year, as set out clearly in the budget and programme for Government, it is important to have a statement on the issue. Who actually validates lists and how does the system work? We need more information than we heard last night. It was an appalling story and an appalling vista. Not one of us would like to be on one of the waiting lists or have any family member on one. Will the Leader ask the Minister attend at some point to make a statement on the interrelationships between the HSE, the National Treatment Purchase Fund and the Department?