I ask the Leader of the House to consider an issue that was raised here by Senator Billy Lawless. I refer to the long wave radio service that is provided by RTE on LW 252 in the United Kingdom and Britain. An update was given in the Irish Independent on 6 March by Gavin White. Many in the Irish community in Britain will lose their last link with Ireland if the long wave 252 radio service is shut down by RTE. I hereby request the Leader of the Seanad and all of its 60 Members to lobby RTE not to terminate this vital link for our many emigrants.

Senator Billy Lawless raised this issue here last month and he made the point well. Protests will be held on St. Patrick's Day and on 14 March in Manchester and Leeds. The protests will be arranged by the Irish in Britain. Approximately 600,000, or more, people in Britain are of direct Irish descent. I have relatives in Manchester and London. They rely on this service because the BBC cannot be relied upon to project anything about Ireland. The Irish in Britain will be further isolated post-Brexit. Many people have direct links to the Tuam issue, including mothers and children who were there, and other issues occurring at home, and they will not ever hear anything about it on the BBC or any other radio station without this vital link to home.

Why would we turn our back on the Irish in Britain? RTE could provide it for a very small amount of money, which could easily be deducted from some very expensive presenters and other issues which arise which are wastes of time and space. RTE provides a good service here at home, but it is its responsibility to provide a good service abroad. I call on the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, to intervene in this situation and to give a ministerial directive to maintain this radio link. Ministers seem to be afraid of getting involved in being Ministers. I never came across a Government that had less ministerial responsibility than this Government.

The Senator is running into overtime.

The Leas-Chathaoirleach might not like to hear this.

We like to hear everything.

I am only giving my observation. I was in Departments when decisions were made and upheld. It is all referred to committees of the House nowadays. I ask the Minister to intervene here, and I wish him well when he is abroad. I wish everybody a very happy St. Patrick's Day. I support Ministers going abroad, as I went myself. They do a very good job, but when they are abroad, I ask them to bear in mind the needs-----

The Senator is well over time.

It is very important. We only have St. Patrick's Day once a year. It is not every week.

I wish the Senator a very happy St. Patrick's Day too.

I wish them well on their tours abroad, successful work on St. Patrick's Day and indeed after it.

I wish to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to the families in Clondalkin, to wish the victim who is in hospital well and to wish her a speedy recovery.

I ask the Leader to consider inviting the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the House in the not too distant future to discuss the many problems that returning emigrants encounter when they come back to Ireland, particularly from the USA. I will outline a few problems they face. It is difficult for a person who has been in America for a number of years to open a bank account here in Ireland. It is also very difficult for a person to get car insurance. The cost of car insurance here is very high, particularly for somebody returning from the United States who does not have an Irish driving licence, but who has a driving licence from one of the 50 states in America. I ask that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade come to the House to discuss what can be done. I know that we do not have any deal on driving licences with the United States, because there are 50 states in America with different licences, but we have deals with many other countries around the globe where their licences are recognised in this State and ours are recognised in theirs.

Perhaps something can be done about that, because it is important that a person's driving licence is recognised when he or she comes here, particularly when buying and insuring a car. I have come across some people who have come here and it is cheaper for them to rent a car on a long-term basis rather than buy a car and insure it given the exorbitant cost of insurance here. The fact that they have to resit a driving test should be considered. It should also be made easier for people returning here to open a bank account, particularly those who left our shores for quite a number of years and are returning, because we welcome back all emigrants. Some are coming back into the workforce, where they are badly needed at present. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the House to address those issues.