I have not had the opportunity to congratulate and welcome our two new Senators. Senator Lawlor is not here at the moment. I hope both of them will have a very productive, happy and collegial time here in the Seanad and that they get to work on a lot of the issues. I was very impressed with Senator Marshall's contribution this morning. It is great to have them here.

Senator Mark Daly spoke about the Corporate Manslaughter (No. 2) Bill 2016. I hear what he is saying. The cervical cancer screening issue that is unfolding literally by the hour is disgraceful. I am astonished that we have to talk about this in the Parliament. In respect of not just negligence but the willful withholding of information, it is one thing to make a bad decision but to willfully withhold information from women is deplorable. There are no words. My heart goes out to the women who have been affected by this and who do not know at this point whether they have been affected. Every woman in Ireland deals with this issue every so often. We must have faith in the service. A really important point needs to be emphasised over and over again. We need women to continue to have these tests. We need to restore confidence in the system. For the most part, it has worked very effectively. It has been very positive and thorough for any woman I know who has had treatment, such as through a regular smear test and ending up in the colposcopy department. First and foremost, we need to restore that.

On the Senator's amendment to the Order of Business and his request for the Minister for Justice and Equality to come before the House, the Minister is due to go before the Select Committee on Justice and Equality with the Data Protection Bill today. The select committee's meeting is due to last until midnight. The Minister has offered to come before the House on Tuesday evening to deal with the issue if that is to the Senator's satisfaction. That is the earliest point at which the Minister can be here. There is a wider issue when it comes to political accountability. The fact that Ministers and Deputies are elected by the people makes them accountable to the people. By all means, politicians need to be fully accountable but I do not see why the permanent government should not be accountable. I feel really strongly about that. Naturally, I would defend the Minister for Health but I thought it was really difficult for him, on a human level, to go into the Dáil with information he was given at very short notice. How can he have full confidence in the information he has been given when it changes by the hour? I really think there needs to be accountability in the permanent government.

The same thing happened to the former Tánaiste, Deputy Fitzgerald. She was given bad information.

I am not trying to shirk politicians' responsibility to be accountable. However, let me ask the following question. How big is the health service? It is massive. How can one individual be totally au fait and on top of what is going on in every facet of that service? It is a physical impossibility so the idea that we cannot rely on managers in that service is beyond the beyond as far as I am concerned. I hear what the Senator is saying regarding the Corporate Manslaughter (No. 2) Bill 2016. The Minister for Health has indicated that there will be criminal sanction in the future and that this is his plan in this area for medics or other professionals who withhold this type of information.

We would all be satisfied to hear from the Minister for Justice and Equality about what plans he has for a potential Bill such as the Senator mentioned.

It needs to cover all the public service.

I cannot hear the Senator.

That is what the corporate manslaughter Bill is about, not just the health service.

The Senator can let me know if that is acceptable to him in due course.

Senator Craughwell raised a few issues but fundamentally he is seeking a debate on governance in the public sector. That would be a very useful debate especially in light of recent developments. He mentioned the mistreatment of women. I cannot stand here as a woman and say that I do not feel that women have been let down repeatedly by the State. We are in the middle of a referendum campaign that is, again, about women. I almost feel that I constantly have to speak about things relating to women that are below the belly button. It is really too much for the women of Ireland to have to go through this over and over again. I agree with Senator Craughwell's comments in that regard and I would encourage having a debate on governance in the public sector.

Senator Gavan highlighted a positive initiative of the health, education and employment committees this morning on how to deal with disability and getting those who are disabled into work and education. He also raised the eighth amendment and his comments in that regard are noted.

I accept Senator Ó Ríordáin's proposed amendment to the Order of Business. I presume we will deal with that shortly.

Senator Kieran O'Donnell referred to Vicky Phelan, who is a neighbour of his and who has done the State an extraordinary and courageous service. As he said, it is a scandal of unimaginable proportions. We all owe her a massive debt of gratitude for highlighting the issue. I hope she receives justice, in more ways than one, over the coming weeks and months. The Senator also welcomed the CFRAM flooding report, which is positive for his area.

Senator Murnane O'Connor raised Lyme disease. It is a serious disease and awareness is obviously vital.

In response to Senator Ó Céidigh, some years ago when we first spoke about the Action Plan for Jobs I doubt that anybody believed we would reach a point of being close to full employment. Unemployment is under 6% for the first time in ten years, which is very significant. Obviously, however, planning is required to get people trained. I have done some work on the chefs issue and it is a huge issue. The Senator's point is well made and a debate on that in due course would be a good idea.

It so happens that every time I have sat in this chair as Deputy Leader, Senator Mac Lochlainn has raised the flooding issue. I heard his frustration and I would be hopeful. However, I cannot comment directly on it because I have not read the report. It sounds as if the people mentioned by the Senator badly need these flood defences. I will ask the Minister to communicate with the Senator on what the plan is over the coming weeks. The Senator is quite right to raise it. The fact that half of the residents are out of their homes is appalling for them, but I will have to refer back to the Senator on the matter because I do not know the details of what is planned by the Department.

I am afraid we will lose Senator Feighan to the House of Lords at some point soon.