I thank all the staff and all those who work in the background in this House for their help and support throughout the past 12 months. I thank all my colleagues for their help and support as well, in particular, the Leader, whom I wish well in his forthcoming marriage. I wish him every happiness into the future. Normally, when people get married they move house. Can I just advise him that there is no vacant house in Cork North-Central-----

There is, though.

-----but there are plenty down in Cork South-Central, just in case people were concerned that he is moving constituency.

I fully agree with the comments made by Senator Ruane and the matter to which she referred. Over the past 30 or 35 years we have made little progress in bringing about a downward trend. I refer to the way areas like this are managed. There has been a number of good projects, such as the Young Ballymun Project, which is about working with young people and working with their parents at the same time. It is likewise in my constituency, in my former local electoral area.

It is about working with everyone, not just with children.

In 1996 the breaking the cycle scheme was introduced which saw a reduction in the pupil, teacher ratio in certain schools. That was very helpful but that alone cannot solve the problem. We have to work with the whole community. Senator Ruane is right about the need to have a debate on this matter. We need to bring forward a far more comprehensive method of working out problems and coming up with solutions. We need to put a long-term plan in place in each of these areas. I would welcome a debate on that issue.

I have raised the issue of respite care on a number of occasions in recent months. I am glad to report that an extra €10 million has been allocated by the Minister for Health for respite services which will increase the number of bed nights available by 19,000. However, I still maintain that we need to do a lot of long-term planning on this issue. While the additional funding is helpful, it will not sort out the problem. It is an area that needs serious attention and a plan for the next three to four years. That said, I welcome the decision by the Minister to allocate extra funding for respite care.

I join others in thanking Martin, Bridget, Carol, Niamh and Aisling and all of the staff in the Seanad Office, as well as the stenographers and sound people, for the great work they do. I wish them all a very happy Christmas. I would also like to be associated with the comments on our dear Leader and his upcoming event.

I think "dear Leader" is a bit much.

Senator Ó Ríordáin was right in what he said about society moving on. We can wish the Leader well with confidence and in the sure knowledge that society has indeed moved on.

I came into the Chamber to speak on the Order of Business, having listened to Senator Ruane's contribution. She is somebody for whom I had high regard, even though I did not know her. Having gotten to know her and having worked with her, I must say I now have enormous time and respect for her. She is a phenomenal person and someone of whom I am very fond. When she speaks about these issues, she speaks with authority. There is a role for the Seanad Public Consultation Committee, chaired by the Leas-Chathaoirleach, in terms of doing some work in this area. Senator Ruane is right that we need to have a proper dialogue on this issue and how we address it. It is something that the aforementioned committee should look at in the new year. The committee has done great work on issues like the national anthem, farm safety and so on. One can see results from the work of that committee, as with the mental health report that was done recently. I urge the Leas-Chathaoirleach to put this on the committee's agenda. Perhaps he will consult Senator Ruane and others in terms of the approach that could be taken. Big issues like this must be dealt with, head on. This Oireachtas is dealing with the eighth amendment and hopefully there will be a referendum on it next year. We need to be dealing with difficult, contentious and challenging issues head on and the Seanad Public Consultation Committee is one mechanism by which we can do that.

We will certainly consult Senator Ruane on the matter.