We would be very happy to have Senator Ruane join us in the Labour Party.

On a more sombre note, as I did not have the opportunity yesterday, I wish to join with colleagues in expressing sincere condolences and sympathies to the families and victims of those caught up in the horrific Manchester bomb attack and to express sympathy also to the people of Manchester at this appalling carnage. It is a new low targeting children in this way. I urge colleagues to sign the book of condolences which the Lord Mayor has opened in Dublin's Mansion House today, and I know many will do that.

On a happier note, I join Senator Ardagh in congratulating Senator Clifford-Lee on the great news of the birth of her baby.

I ask the Leader for a debate on white collar crime. It requires the Minister for Justice and Equality to come into this House to discuss the serious issues that have arisen following the collapse of the trial of Seán FitzPatrick, about which others have spoken. Looking at the comments of Judge John Aylmer in directing the acquittal yesterday and noting that the Director of Public Prosecutions had already dropped nine of the 27 charges at the close of the prosecution's case, we see some serious issues emerging about the conduct of the prosecution, in particular the conduct of the investigation by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, and by its officials.

In particular, the judge seems to have focused on the way in which witness statements were prepared. They were prepared as if for a civil trial with numerous drafts to and fro and none of the normal meticulous procedures used that one would have in a criminal trial in terms of witness statements. A number of issues arise. I noted other comments of the judge about lack of impartially by the ODCE and the fact that it seemed to be building a case rather than seeking to investigate impartially. There are a number of different issues. It would require the Minister for Justice and Equality to speak with us on the means of investigating complex matters of white collar crime to ensure that this sort of outcome does not transpire again.

I also ask the Leader for a debate on maternity services in light of the HSE's review of maternity cases published this week and also in light of the huge concern many of us have around the governance issues with the move of the national maternity hospital to St. Vincent's Hospital. We are expecting some statement imminently from the Minister for Health on that matter but the review of the cases, particularly in Portlaoise, raise bigger questions also about maternity care in this country and about the treatment of pregnant women and babies in hospitals. I ask for a debate on that in due course.

I ask colleagues for their support this evening for the Labour Party's Private Members' Bill, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Gender Pay Gap Information) Bill 2017. We hope the Government will support it and that there will not have to be a vote on Second Stage. There will be quite a number of people from the trade union movement and the National Women's Council present inside and outside the Chamber to support the passage of the Bill.

I support my colleague, Deputy Ivana Bacik, on the issue of white collar crime. It shows that when the events occurred, we did not have the necessary capacity to deal with them. We now need to ensure such events will not occur again and that we will have people adequately trained in how to prepare such an investigation and how to present the findings to the courts in order that they can be dealt with properly in a fair manner. Deputy Ivana Bacik has raised a very important point. We need the Minister to come to the House to discuss the issue and tell us what his future plans are for dealing with it. Do we have sufficient resources provided? Do we have enough trained people? If not, they need to acquire the necessary skills.

There is an issue with maternity services going back to 2003 when a report clearly set out the number of medical consultants and specialists needed. There has been very slow development with totally inadequate numbers. In particular, when we go back to what happened in Portlaoise, the number of deliveries had doubled within a very short period, but the HSE did not respond adequately to make sure there were proper staffing levels and the proper number of qualified personnel in place. That is the problem we have in the health service. It fails to respond in a timely manner when things change. It is important to ensure that what occurred there will never be allowed to occur again. Overall, in maternity services, I understand reaching the target, or getting anywhere near it, of having the number of suitably qualified staff and consultants required will take us anything up to ten years as a result of employing ten new consultants per annum. I am not even sure whether that number will be reached this year. The Minister for Health should come to the House to deal with this issue and let us know what the plans are in the next five to ten years in order that we will not have to wait for a new report to come out in 12 months's time on the issue.

I raise the issue of the electronic tagging of offenders. Will the Leader use his good offices to ask the Minister for Justice and Equality why it has taken ten years to enforce the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act which allows for the electronic tagging of suspects? It is high time the legislation was enforced. It could be a major resource for the Garda in its ongoing efforts to deal with suspects. It has been widely proved that electronic tagging greatly reduces the number of likely breaches of bail conditions. For this reason, it is difficult to see why ten years have elapsed and we have yet to see the provisions being brought into force. All of us in the House are aware of breaches of bail conditions which in many cases have led to violent assaults being perpetrated on innocent individuals. It is difficult to understand at a time when Garda numbers are being reduced. In the four-year period to 2015, €250 million was spent on providing criminal legal aid. It is high time the legislation was introduced to enable us to provide additional security for the victims in communities who live in fear of crime at all times.