Like everybody else, I was horrified by RTÉ's "Prime Time" last night. Jack Brennan looks after his lovely wife, Bernie. Jack is in his 80s and Bernie has spent 17 years in her current condition. He looks after her 24-7. One would have to be made of stone not to feel upset, or even to shed a tear, for him last night or to feel the same for the other carers featured on the programme. Carers care for family members at home for 6.5 million hours a week, saving this Government millions of euro. The number of people who are 85 years or older and are caring for their loved ones has increased by 35% in the last year.

One of the comments made last night was that the HSE should bring back its humanity. I think that was a very good point. Another lady said that we need to look at this because it could happen to any one of us at any time. I speak from experience as it happened to my family recently. We were in the fortunate position that there were several of us who could care for our loved one 24-7 but it is very difficult and very heartbreaking. One woman's carer's allowance was reduced to €8 a week because her husband had gotten a new job which paid more. This is just not good enough.

We need to have the Minister in the House at some point, whenever he is available, to have a debate about this, no more than we need a debate on the mental health budget. That budget is more than €1 billion a year and we do not know where it is being spent. I would like to know where the HSE is spending its money. Respite is vital for these people. Jacinta, who was on the programme last night, spoke of a house near her that is empty and available, staffed and ready, to which Sam could go so that Jacinta could have a break. The HSE will not pay for it. We need to have a debate. It should not be a debate in which we all stand up and express our horror and in which the Minister reads us a speech. It should be a proper debate in which we burrow down through the whole topic and find out where the money is going. I really believe that the least we can do for people caring for their loved ones at home is to give them respite so that they can continue to do the wonderful job which they do. They are not looking for something for nothing. They are entitled to some respite.

I completely concur with Senator McFadden. A debate on carers should take place and we need to burrow down into the reasons carers are not getting sufficient support.

Last week in this Chamber we heard statements from the Ministers, Deputies Denis Naughten and Shane Ross, on the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. Later today we will hear from the Ministers responsible for the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Housing, Planning and Local Government. Although I am grateful for the opportunity to have dedicated time to debate such issues in the House, I am concerned at the way in which the Government has engaged with the process to date. It has not been in compliance with the existing rules as laid out in section 14(4) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act. The statements we heard last week do not comply with the requirements of the Act. They did not set out the analyses in a structured fashion which would enable the Seanad to respond to them and evaluate the work of the Government and the Ministers, as is clearly the intention of the Act.

With this in mind, I communicated my concerns to the offices of the Ministers, Deputies Denis Naughten, Michael Creed, Shane Ross and Eoghan Murphy, last Thursday. I copied the Cathaoirleach and Senator Jerry Buttimer in the correspondence, which sought more satisfactory compliance during this afternoon's session. I have not yet received any response and I would like to raise this issue on the Order of Business to ensure that this afternoon's statements are not more of the same as last week.

Last year the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment summarised all of the contributions from the various Government Departments in a single 75-page annual transition statement document, a comprehensive single source for statistics relating to Ireland's climate action performance in the previous year. I ask that the Cathaoirleach request that the Ministers adhere to their obligations and inform the House of details of their Departments' performance last year in compliance with the Act. Will the Acting Leader inform me whether a comprehensive study of the climate performance will be delivered to the Seanad and the Dáil as it was last year? In these circumstances I would like the Acting Leader to indicate when the Government will do so as we are coming to the end of the year.