I join in the congratulations extended to our colleague and friend, Senator Joe O'Reilly, and his elevation to the position of vice president of the Council of Europe. He will bring a wonderful demeanour, huge expertise and a very high calibre to that role. We wish him every success. It is a tremendous honour for him, his family, for Cavan and for the Oireachtas that he has been elected to that position. Congratulations to him.

I thank the 13 Members of the House for the their contributions on the Order of Business. Nine members, Senators Mark Daly, Gavan, Joe O'Reilly, Leyden, Ó Clochartaigh, Wilson, Lombard, Mulherin and Ó Domhnaill raised issues almost stretching from the Old Testament to the New Testament about the need for broadband and it is perhaps apt on Lá Fhéile Bhríde, on the first day of spring which is a day of hope and renewal, that we commit, as the Minister, Deputy Naughten, has done, to the provision of broadband. We would all agree that we have been waiting far too long for broadband but as Senator Mulherin rightly said, which has been lost by some Members opposite, the provision of high speed broadband increased from 51%, 19 months ago, to 71% and to 77% by the end of the year in many parts of the country. As Senator Mulherin said, 300 farms per week are receiving high speed broadband. A point on which I agree completely with Senator Gavan is that we sold off Eircom on day 1 and it has been asset stripped since then. Therein lies part of the problem in terms of the issue we face today. I am glad Senator Wilson has belatedly come to the table to recognise the importance of what we have just said.

I was always of that opinion.

Good. I want to make this clear, no other country in the world is trying to do what we are trying to achieve, namely, to connect every house and business in the country to high speed broadband. The aim and aspiration is still to have 90% connectivity. I know Senator Leyden brought telephones around the country when he was Minister of State but we cannot do that in this case. This is a different era, different timeframe and different type of technology.

There were wires then.

It is important we commit to this. The Minister and the Government are very much of that view. I hear people criticise the role of the Government in this matter, but let us reflect on what the Government did.

Exactly.

To be fair to the former Ministers, Pat Rabbitte and Alex White, and other Ministers who served in the previous Government and in this Government, we set up a national broadband procurement policy. It is a process. If there was political interference in that process, every one of the Members would have been roaring and shouting this morning about political involvement. The question that must be asked is why Eir opted out at the 11th hour. Has none of the Members asked that question?

Because it got 300,000 cherry-picked households.

There you go. It did. There was an engagement with the bidders-----

Some 400,000 households were ruled out.

The Senator is the best fellow I know for being right about everything and wrong about nothing.

I thank the Leader for admitting that. I am very grateful to him for that.

The Senator is wrong about everything.

It is very gracious of the Leader to be so honest.

That means there are two of you.

I ask Members to respect the Chair.

A independent process was put in place.

It failed.

It did not fail. There is one bidder left who is committed.

That would be a monopoly.

It depends on the Leader's definition of success.

Senator Ó Domhnaill knows well that there is no monopoly. Senator O'Reilly who is a member of the communications committee, as is Senator Leyden, will tell Senator Ó Domhnaill what transpired with Eir.

We will be meeting the Minister next Thursday.

The pricing was done already.

The bottom line is the Government is committed. We have one bidder left and despite Senator Daly's cynicism, it may well be of benefit to the House and we may have connectivity quicker.

May?

As the Minister, Deputy Naughten, said, the task is now to let us get the job done.

A monopoly has never benefited the customer so I am not sure how this one will bring a benefit to the customer.

I am confident that we will get it done. I am very happy to facilitate the debate but I would again ask Senator Daly, who came back to us, to listen to what his learned colleague, Senator Wilson, said. We should never have sold off Eircom, which his party did, and the consequence of that is that it was asset-stripped from then. That is where we are at today in part. The question that must be asked of Eir is: Why?

The Deputy's party has been in government for seven years and he is blaming this on Eircom.

At least our party in government is ambitious for our people.

There are 400,000 customers-----

Some 77% of our people have connectivity.

The Government said that it was not going to pay for those people and then the Leader is wondering why-----

Whatever about the roll-out of the broadband today, could the Leader roll on in order that we can make progress?

Hear, hear.

I will roll on. Some 77% of our people will have broadband connectivity by the end of the year. That is not a bad achievement and there has been a 19% increase in connectivity since the Minister, Deputy Naughten, came into office.

Senator Boyhan has requested a debate on Coillte and I would be very happy to facilitate that. The chief executive officer of Coillte, Mr. Gerard Murphy, was interviewed on "Morning Ireland" this morning. He is committed to working to regain the trust of landowners, to issuing an annual statement and he agrees there is a need for transparency and proper communications. The Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, is happy to come to the House in that regard.

Senator Gavan raised the issue of section 39 agency workers. I agree with him that there is a pay differential with respect to those workers which needs to be addressed. That is why the Minister for Health, together with the HSE, has set up a process to examine that and they will come back with a review. That process must examine the case of the workers and it must be evidence based. I agree completely with the Senator. We have a wonderful institution called Marymount in Cork and the workers there are treated different from the workers in the HSE. Unfortunately, the problem is that they are not designated as public servants, as the Senator will know. Therefore, the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, legislation-----

They are going on strike.

I am well aware of that. I have met these workers and spoken to them, as has the Senator.

What about the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform?

If I can answer the issue the Senator raised, the funding position of section 39 organisations is that they get a grant, a service level agreement. There is an obligation on all Departments to engage with Oireachtas committees. In this case, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform cited that the relevant Department was the Department of Health, but it would be helpful it there was a collective will across Departments. People should not use the issue of section 39 agency workers as a political football. I would make that general comment.

Senator O'Reilly referenced the fair deal system and raised a specific issue about it and I would be very happy to arrange for a debate on that matter.

Senator Humphreys called for a debate on directly elected mayors in local government and I would be happy to facilitate that. The Minister, Deputy Murphy, and the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, are committed to the development of greater accountability and democracy in local authorities. The Senator raised some interesting points about Dublin but, as he will know, Dublin is not the world. There are many parts of the country as equally important as Dublin.

Such as Cork.

I would be happy to have that debate with him.

I did not get all of Senator Leyden's contribution on the Druid production but I wish that production well. The Senator is certainly a good advertisement for being on stage with the actors in that production.

I congratulate Senator Dolan on his advocacy for and work on seeking the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We adjourned a debate yesterday in order that we could have a further debate on housing and I would be happy to include the disability aspects in such a debate.

I agree with Senator Devine that we must have respect on all sides of this House. It works both ways, as she will know. I am very happy as the only male Leader of the House to work with all my women colleagues at meetings every week. I would be very happy to have that debate.

Show us that.

The Taoiseach will be here.

It is important.

It is very important and it works both ways. What we need to have are debates on what is factual and what is not factual in terms of what people bring into the House as part of their contributions. If that is the point the Senator is referring to, and I am not sure it is, that is okay. I would be happy to meet her any time to discuss Seanad reform.

No. The Seanad needs to meet to consider overall reform.

Senator Ó Clochartaigh raised the issue of water privatisation. I do not believe we have privatised water but I would be happy to-----

We are not far off it.

The Oireachtas has made the position quite clear. I have asked Irish Water to have the clinics resumed.

We will have the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, come to the House for a debate on water.

Senator Wilson will be glad to join us in congratulating Senator O'Reilly on seeing the road grant for Cavan increased by 18%.

From a very low base.

I know they work well together in Cavan. The important point, as the Senator indicated, is that it is not about St. Jude or St. Jeremiah. It is about all of us working to advance our own local areas.

I have asked for the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, to come to the House to discuss the issue of Coillte. I will ask for the Minister, Deputy Naughten, to come to address the issue of broadband. It is a very serious issue which many Members have raised this morning. I would be happy to have that debate at the earliest convenience.