I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by my colleague, Senator Keith Swanick, whom I commend for the particular Bill he is bringing forward.

I join Senator Humphreys and other colleagues who yesterday expressed their sympathy to the wife of the late Deputy Peter Mathews. While Peter was not known for his brevity, he certainly was for his bravery and principles. I extend my condolences to his wife and four children. Ar dheas Dé go raibh a anam dilis.

I agree with everything Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said about the lack of transport and air infrastructure in the northern part of the country. I come from a county that had huge infrastructure, both rail and bus, in the 1950s and early 1960s. When the railway line was lifted and closed, we were assured that the road infrastructure would be upgraded and that we would not be neglected. Unfortunately, for people north of a line running from Galway to Dublin, apart from a short stretch of motorway through County Meath, that area of the island has been neglected. At a time when we are concerned about Brexit and the implications it will have for us as a nation, a national bus route to one of the principal cities in the North of Ireland is to be closed. That is nothing short of disgraceful and the matter should be addressed as a matter of urgency. I appeal to the Leader to use his good offices and implore the Taoiseach and especially the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, who has an opinion on everything other than the Department for which he is responsible, to intervene in the Bus Éireann dispute as a matter of urgency.

I, too, join my colleagues in expressing sympathy on the death of former Deputy Peter Mathews. I would not be here but for a signature he gave me when I ran in the by-election.

We all have our failings.

What is probably not known is that Susan suffered a double loss in that her mother died the day before Peter. We cannot comprehend the grief she must be feeling today and my deepest sympathy goes to her and her family. Peter was, indeed, a decent and generous man.

I debated a Commencement matter yesterday with the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris. It concerned the National Treatment Purchase Fund. I am not in the business of bashing the Minister and think he is doing the best he can under the circumstances. However, this morning I learned from the National Treatment Purchase Fund that every condition was not necessarily covered. For example, we are told neurosurgery is not available under the National Treatment Purchase Fund. We probably need the Minister to come and outline specifically what is and is not available. There was a gerrymandering of the figures on waiting lists in the south east, where everybody on a waiting list received a letter telling him or her that he or she was off it and that he or she had to reapply. We received an explanation yesterday, but what we now need to know is if the National Treatment Purchase Fund is available to everybody. If so, what conditions are covered by it and how does one get from a waiting list to the National Treatment Purchase Fund to have the treatment one urgently needs? Yesterday I was given the example of someone looking to have an orthopaedic procedure carried out. Two people I know are seeking the same treatment, one of whom is on the public list, while the other is on the private list. The person on the public list will have to wait two years, while the person on the private list only has to wait two days. We need to get to the bottom of this problem. In that regard, I would appreciate the Leader's assistance. This is not in any way a criticism of the Minister who is doing as fine a job as he can. At one stage the Department of Health was called Angola.