I speak today on behalf of the people of Bantry and the south west. They are in distress over the granting this week by the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Damien English, of a seaweed licence to BioAtlantis to mechanically harvest 1,860 acres of kelp in Bantry Bay.

Will the Leader ask the Minister of State to come to the House to debate the future plans of the Government on the development of the commercial seaweed industry in Ireland? I want the Minister of State to discuss the issuing of seaweed licences with us. I would also like to discuss why the Government and the Minister of State did not consult and engage with the 1,200 people who signed a petition against the issuing of the licence.

Wild seaweed is a valuable resource in Ireland. In other countries, like Japan, Korea and China, they cultivate seaweed. We could have a niche market here - it is certainly an emerging market - if we do this right, but already we are getting it wrong.

I am appealing to the Minister of State and the Government to address this before they issue any more seaweed licences. A request by BioAtlantis for another licence to cut 12,900 tonnes of Ascophyllum, a type of seaweed in Clew Bay, has been submitted. Before any other licences are permitted and issued, those responsible should consult the people and communities in these rural areas. We need to look at how we can do this sustainably, because we can do that. However, the way the Government is going about it is wrong and is destroying vast tracts or areas of seaweed.

We have an opportunity. I am asking the Leader to get the Minister of State before the House as soon as possible in the new year to debate the issue.

Aontaím go huile is go hiomlán leis an Seanadóir O'Sullivan maidir leis an méid atá sí ag rá faoi chúrsaí feamainne. I concur wholeheartedly with Senator Grace O’Sullivan's thoughts on the seaweed industry. I put in a related question as a Commencement matter, but it seems there was a major demand for Commencement matters today, especially on that issue.

I have raised this issue several times. It is my understanding that the Attorney General is looking into the review of all the portfolios and folios throughout the island of Ireland with regard to pertinent seaweed harvesting rights held by folio holders. I understand the report has not been finalised. Therefore, I find it strange that a licence has been issued in Bantry since, as I understand it, the Government has not finally received or published the Attorney General's remarks in respect of where those holders stand. It is absolutely and totally inappropriate that licences would be issued before the report and legal guidance are made fully available.

Ós rud é nach mbeimid anseo arís ar an Riar Gnó ó thaobh na Nollag de, guím chuile bheannacht na Nollag ar gach duine sna Tithe seo. Tá súil agam go mbeidh Nollaig mhór mhaith ag gach éinne.

I call on the Government to challenge the Irish Medical Council decision to grant unconditional accreditation to RCSI Bahrain. The decision makes no reference to the appalling human rights situation in Bahrain that is impacting on local training hospitals used by the college.

I have been provided with information by the Global Legal Action Network regarding the controversial accreditation of RCSI Bahrain on this day in 2014. According to GLAN, human rights abuses and maladministration continue to affect the local clinical training sites used by RCSI Bahrain. Based on this information, I am calling on the Government to address this troubling issue as a matter of urgency.

Following the crackdown on the Arab spring protests, numerous medical personnel were imprisoned simply for treating protesters. Irish trained Dr. Ali al-Ekri was still imprisoned throughout the accreditation process of the Medical Council and was only released earlier this year after serving five years in prison.

A women's rights activist, Ms Ghada Jamsheer, was imprisoned for tweeting about corruption and poor standards in a Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, affiliated hospital controlled by the Bahraini military. She, too, was imprisoned just before the Medical Council visited Bahrain to inspect the hospital.

In January 2017, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy reported that an injured sit-in protester, an 18-year-old man called Mustafa Hamdan, was refused access via ambulance to a RCSI-affiliated hospital, the Salmaniya Medical Complex. According to reports members of his family were intimidated by the security forces when they tried to access the hospital. Unfortunately, Mr. Hamdan later died from his gunshot injury in March 2017.

These are just some of the issues that have been brought to my attention. It is unacceptable that the Irish Government and the Medical Council have turned a blind eye to human rights abuses in this manner, especially as standards adopted by the council require attention to be paid to such issues. If a medical programme in Ireland used such hospitals, would it be granted the same accreditation? Why are these hospitals and organisations doing this? Is it just for the money? If so, what is the price for human rights? I call on the Government to ensure that this unethical practice is stopped as soon as possible. I also call on the Leader to engage with the Minister for Education and Skills and for a debate on this issue to be arranged as soon as possible in the new year.