I want to raise the issue of the so-called welfare cheats campaign of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar. He made some outlandish claims that with this campaign, his Department will have made €500 million in savings so far. My colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, looked into this to discover the savings claimed were based on estimates of what would have been saved over 52 weeks, or in some cases, over 136 weeks, however. In fact, the actual savings were more like €41 million.

This compares with €375 million of moneys owed by employers to the Social Insurance Fund. I have raised this issue in Commencement debates before and have asked the Department to explain why specific companies continue to trade while they owe moneys in this regard. I am still waiting for a response from the Department. When one takes into account the €375 million which the Department is not bothering to chase and the €13 billion owed by Apple which the Minister does not want to touch, it is quite clear that this is a nasty right-wing campaign from a man who wants to brand himself as the future leader of the Fine Gael Party. It reminds me of Norman Tebbit and Mrs. Thatcher. It is mean-spirited from the hard right of Fine Gael which, unfortunately, looks like it will lead the party into the future.

I would like to have the Minister for Social Protection into the House to explain his spurious claims about €500 million in savings. It is a disgraceful and shameful campaign, showing where Fine Gael stands. It wants to tramp on the little people and let the lads at the top off every time.

It is now time to call on the Leader to respond.

How does one follow that, a Leas-Chathaoirligh? I thank the 19 Members for their contributions to the Order of Business. I agree with Senator Ardagh on the issue of homelessness and that reform needs to continue in this area to address the availability and supply of social housing, as well as affordability. I would be happy for the Minister to come to the House on this issue.

The issue of cyber security gained national and international prominence over the weekend. I commend the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, for their proactivity with the staff of the IT department in the HSE. The Minister, Deputy Naughten, brought a memorandum to the Government this morning setting out the events and the issues in terms of how this country deals with them. The national cyber security centre at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment has been proactive and worked strongly over the weekend. I know from talking to people who were brought into work in the HSE over the weekend that the work was taken very seriously. Thankfully, there has been regular communication and contact over the weekend. I used the word "proactivity" and there was strong work done by the HSE. I commend all the staff in the IT department.

Obviously it is a matter on which we must be vigilant. We must work to ensure that all parts of our ICT are safe. At a personal level for all of us, it is about how we can ensure we are not open to interception of our emails or any of our activity online. Equally, there is a collective responsibility on the part of the State in regard to cyber security. We have seen media reports of other interactions in elections in America and the attack on the NHS at the weekend. However, I commend the Minister on his work. The issue Senator Ardagh raises in terms of small businesses is one that requires a whole-of-government approach. She is correct that these people are at the coalface and are not, perhaps, able to tap into the Government, as in the case of the HSE.

We need a director of national security.

There is a need to ensure the impact is limited, that there is a whole-of-government response and that the people in small and medium enterprises mentioned by Senator Ardagh have access to support. I will be happy to work with her in that regard.

Senators McDowell and Lawless raised the Good Friday Bill proposed by Senator Lawless. I hope the Bill will be back before the House as soon as the Department has finished with it. I have been in touch with the Senator and I have liaised with the Department on his behalf. As Leader, I will not delay the Bill from being brought before the House again. From my discussions with the Department I am aware that it is also working on the Sale of Alcohol Bill, which is important legislation. All of us wish to see that Bill brought to the House. Equally, I have given the Senator a commitment in regard to his Bill and I do not have an issue with it returning to the House. I am working with the Department to ensure it will be returned. I am sure the Senator will give me some latitude if it is plus or minus a few days.

Does the Leader want us to draft the amendments or is the Department doing it?

The Leader, without interruption.

Sometimes the Senator's form of drafting could be open to misinterpretation.

We will not have an argument about it here.

I would prefer independent draftspersons to do it. However, as I said-----

We can give the Leader a dig-out if he wishes.

-----I am endeavouring-----

He will take advice from the Attorney General, but that is a position Senator McDowell held.

If Senator Craughwell is in government some day, I perish to think that he will take advice from anybody. I look forward to that day, although not really. However, I am working with Senator Lawless and the Department to bring the Bill back before the House. It is subject to events, but both I and the Minister, to be fair, are endeavouring to have it back here.

Senator Conway-Walsh spoke about a motion she is putting before the House tomorrow and Senator Paul Daly raised the issue with regard to agriculture. I commend Senator Paul Daly on his approach to this. To be fair to him, he did not try to play naked politics last week, as the Senator did. Last week I offered to invite the Minister to the House for the Sinn Féin Members. They refused that offer. I am offering it again now to the Sinn Féin Party and particularly to Senator Paul Daly, because he is right that it is a much broader and wider part-----

They are like peas in a pod.

Yes.

Order, please.

Sometimes it is good to listen.

Everybody listen, please.

If Senator Paul Daly is agreeable, I am happy to have the Minister, Deputy Creed, come to the House next Wednesday, 24 May, to discuss the issues to which he referred rather than the wider, narrow focus that is in the Sinn Féin motion. It merely seeks to play politics with farmers. I commend Senator Daly on his work and the approach he has taken.

We will not have a debate now.

There are school students in the Public Gallery. What they would like to see is us working together for the betterment of our communities, which is why later I will accept the motion from the former Minister of State, Senator Ó Riordáin. In this case it is the farming community, rather than the narrow prism through which Sinn Féin comes to everything. Sinn Féin is for nothing and opposes everything.

No, we oppose Fine Gael.

That is so populist.

They could well have got what they wanted, but they choose not to.

We will not encourage further debate, Leader.

The love bombing from Sinn Féin gets to me sometimes. It is unbelievable.

They love bombing.

The Senator is right there. On GMIT, I join Senator O'Mahony in again asking about this issue. The Government is committed to a multi-campus provision in all institutes of technology. As Senator O'Mahony rightly said, there has been engagement with GMIT in a genuine attempt to make the institute economically sound and put it on a firm financial footing. An independent adviser has been appointed and the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has established a working group with the aim of putting together a sustainable plan for the future development of the Castlebar campus. It is important that we allow that work to be done and brought to a conclusion. The HEA has already made it clear that it is committed to this and the Minister and the Government have a whole-of- government approach to that commitment. The working group's report should be submitted at some point during this quarter. I am happy for the group to be allowed to do its work. We must all ensure that there is a strong GMIT presence.

Senator Dolan raised the issue of Huntington's disease. He mentioned that Pope Francis is hosting a gathering of people with Huntingdon's, the first such meeting with a pontiff, which I think is on tomorrow. I commend the people from Ireland who are travelling. I know from my time as Chairman of the Oireachtas committee on health when we held hearings on issues relating to rare diseases, of which Huntingdon's was one, that approximately 750 of our fellow citizens have Huntingdon's disease. It is a rare disease and one for which we need to develop a strategy and an all-Ireland approach. I would be very happy to work with the Senator on that issue. I also join him in wishing former Taoiseach, John Bruton, a happy birthday on Thursday.

I am happy to take on board Senator Ó Riordáin's amendment to the Order of Business. He raised the issue of the inner city and the Mulvey report and I join him in commending the people of the inner city and that community. He is right that it must not be about gangland crime or the reaction to an event, such as a death or shooting, but about an investment in people and in the community. As someone who has spent a lot of time working with communities and developing them, it is important that, as a Government and as a country, we invest in people. I am confident the Mulvey plan, which is a three-year plan of action, will be driven not only by the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, but also by all the stakeholders, including education, community, voluntary and sporting groups. The Senator is right that it is about people making communities, and the Government must deliver and implement that plan. There is a commitment to reopen Fitzgibbon Street Garda station and money has been ring-fenced but I share the Senator's view that there must be staging posts along to the way on the points he raised. I would be happy for the Minister or the Taoiseach to come to the House to discuss this issue.

Senator Colm Burke and Senator Murnane-O'Connor raised the issue of anti-social behaviour and the lack of implementation. I am open to correction but I think the Senator is incorrect and that there is legislation on this matter.

It is important that we allow for city and county councils to take action, if needed, in respect of people who are involved------

The legislation is not working because people are afraid.

It is about fear.

The Senator should raise that matter tomorrow.

I am not quite sure it is about fear. To be fair, I know from my own city council that different interventions take place. Those interventions do not necessarily involve evictions or throwing people out. There can be other points taken in that regard and it is a matter to which we can return. I would be happy to have the Minister come to the House to discuss that matter.

Senator Craughwell again spoke about the Defence Forces in a very passionate way. As he knows, we will be having a debate on the matter in the House on Wednesday of next week, when the Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Deputy Kehoe, will be present. There are different points to be raised and we will debate the matters the Senator raised.

Some of the points the Senator made in regard to Galway City Council are erroneous. It was asked to provide the Minister of State with a fully-costed feasibility study for its suggestion, as he was keen to give it his fullest consideration. As far as I know, the council did not do that. It was estimated that the retention of the relevant vessel between its decommissioning and its sale would have cost the State approximately €370,000 because there would have been a need to assign a skeleton crew. If the Senator looks at the issues of the cost of tug hire and the usage of the vessel, the figure of €750,000 that has been mentioned today is speculative-----

I am not for a moment-----

-----particularly in the context that there has been no offer. The Senator should listen to the remarks made by Dominic Daly on local and national radio today. Mr. Daly is a very eminent Cork-based agent - the Senator mentioned Cork in his Commencement matter earlier- and an expert in that area. There is speculation around the whole cost of the vessel. Let us deal with the facts.

On the points Senator Craughwell made in respect of our Defence Forces, the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, has, to be fair, demonstrated his respect for and absolute pride in our Defence Forces. He is a very proactive Minister of State and he has not been afraid to stand up for and represent our Defence Forces.

Soldiers are living in poverty.

The issue the Senator has raised regarding members of the Defence Forces living in poverty is one of which the Minister of State and many of us are acutely aware. There has been a reduction in terms of the FEMPI legislation and there has been a suite of other measures. I am not sure that the concept of members of the Defence Forces or gardaí being able to go on strike is something I would personally support. As somebody who has been a member of a trade union and who recognises the importance of trade unions-----

They would not do so. No soldier would ever go on strike.

I know. That is a different issue but we will have the debate next week.

Senator Devine raised the issue of today's conference. I join her in commending the Chief Nursing Officer. The previous Government was the first to appoint a Chief Nursing Officer. The Senator also raised the issue of the campaign in respect of rents previously.

I wish Liam Doran well in his impending retirement from his role as general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. He has announced his intention to step down as general secretary at some point this year. In the context of Senator Devine's contribution, Mr. Doran has been a very strong voice for nurses. In my former role as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I found him to be a pleasure to deal with. He is a very straight talker and a very good advocate for nurses. We might not always have agreed on certain points along the way but I always found him to be a gentleman. I wish him and his family well.

Senator Higgins referred to the ECJ ruling on the Singapore free trade agreement. I would be happy to invite the relevant Minister to come before the House to discuss that issue.

Senator Noone raised the very important matter of air pollution and the fact that we can do so much to preserve life and ensure that people live longer. The figures she supplied in respect of ingestion of pollutants reducing life expectancy by nine months are frightening. I would be happy to have the Minister come to the House with regard to the matter she raised.

On behalf of all Senators, I join Senator Norris in saying "Bravo" to the Wexford Festival Opera on the warm tribute it was paid by being deemed the best opera festival in the world. It is important to recognise that huge things grow from little acorns. In this case, a renowned opera festival has developed. I join Senator Norris in commending all involved.

Senator Murnane O'Connor referred to the revaluation of commercial rates.

Senator Feighan raised the issue of the visit of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to Ireland in the past week. I join the Senator in welcoming the couple to Ireland. It was fantastic that the visit was such a success and that Prince Charles enjoyed the garden party at the British Ambassador's residence and the more formal events in Glasnevin Cemetery. As Senator Feighan says, the normalisation of his encounter with the leader of Sinn Féin, Deputy Gerry Adams, and other groups around the country makes it all the better. It is through high-profile events such as this that we can see that the relationship with the British royal family has been normalised. I commend Senator Feighan for his work on promoting relations between the North and the South and also between Ireland and the UK. He has been a prolific member of committees, as has the Cathaoirleach. However, to be fair to Senator Feighan, this event was one of his signature political involvements and I commend him for it.

I have already responded to Senator Lawless on the issue he raised regarding Good Friday.

Senator Warfield asked about the issue of Seanad reform. It is a work in progress. An implementation committee which has been set up is awaiting the appointment of a chairman. It is beyond my remit to appoint that chairman. Members have changed how the House does business. This is evident from the increased number of Senators seconding Private Members' Bills, the business group that discusses the business of the House and the broad-minded way in which I approach issues, although some Sinn Féin Members may not agree with that last point. Members may not ever be in unison on the issue of Seanad reform but I accept that we need to consider how it can be brought about.

Senator Byrne raised the important issue of people being encouraged to live outside Dublin. I join her in welcoming the living grant scheme in towns and villages outside Dublin and I hope it will receive take-up.

Senator Gavan raised the issue of social welfare and the work of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar. The Senator should join me in the welcoming the Minister's campaigns on many issues such as maternity, paternity or, in this case, social welfare fraud.

It is a farce.

It is important that we recognise that the purpose of this campaign is to ensure-----

It is disgraceful.

-----that there is reporting of social welfare fraud so that-----

It is a campaign of hate.

------money can be saved and invested by the State. That money can be invested in different Departments. Every €1 that we save can be given to a person who genuinely needs intervention or support. The Senator may huff and puff-----

It is absolutely no money.

Employers owe €375 million to the Social Insurance Fund.

The Department of Social Protection has an annual budget of €20 billion. The campaign is designed to ensure that people do not abuse the system and that the money saved is spent on people who need it. It suits the Senator to use the rhetoric he has today but it does not serve the purpose of the campaign.

The truth hurts.

I am happy to accept Senator Ó Ríordáin's proposal.

I know Senator Conway-Walsh intends to table a motion tomorrow regarding the review of the areas of natural constraint, ANC, scheme but I am happy to have statements next week and that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, come to the House as Senator Paul Daly has requested.

Senator Ó Ríordáin has proposed an amendment to the Order of Business, "That No. 16 be taken before No. 1." The Leader has indicated he is prepared to accept the amendment. Is the amendment agreed? Agreed.