I commend all of those who are organising the rare breeds conference in Mulranny this weekend, starting on Friday. It is a very important conference which I attended last year. Wonderful work is being done in this country on rare breeds, their development and the importance of that to the agricultural sector. It impinges on other sectors as well. I wish the organisers well for the conference in Mulranny on Friday and I look forward to attending at least part of it.

I wish to talk about the rainy day fund. We should not be looking at a rainy day fund when we have a crisis in housing and health. The recent stability programme update shows why the so-called rainy day fund should be scrapped. The €500 million to be put aside next year will only be money diverted from services. It is more akin to a black hole than a rainy day fund. It is a crisis now for 10,000 homeless people and hundreds of thousands on the waiting list. There are also hundreds of people on trolleys every day in hospitals. They do not need reassurance that we are prepared for the future. They need things to happen now. It is an insult to them to say that it is better to lock people's money away while so many are waiting for treatment. I just received a call from a woman who was to have a vital procedure in Galway hospital today. She was all ready to go but she was told there is no bed. There has been a reduction in the number of nurses in recent years, including in Mayo. The money that has been set aside for the rainy day fund should be put into the services that are needed right here and right now. It should also be used for investment in infrastructure in rural areas. Last week I spoke about a community between Westport and Louisburgh that did not have any proper quality water. There should be a reconsideration of the rainy day fund and the investment should be made there. That makes absolute sense because of the multiplier effect in terms of job creation. It is vital that such investment is made now in rural areas. We recently ratified the UN convention on disability. Substantial funding will be required to ensure the implementation of the convention. The money should be used for that as well.

In reply to my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, the Minister for Finance recently said his intention remains to transfer €1.5 billion from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, and to make annual transfers of €500 million per year in each year from 2019 to 2021, as was published last month in the stability programme update. What guarantees are there that this will not just be a backup fund for bankers and speculators if they behave deplorably again? It is being said that this is to make our economy more resilient, yet the Government continues to reference the economic crash when justifying its set-up. There needs to be a rethink about that. It shows the Government does not have an understanding of the immediate issues that need to be addressed here and now. If we did not have homeless people and people who are left waiting on trolleys for vital treatment, then we could have a rainy day fund, but not under the current circumstances.

On behalf of my group I express sincere sympathies and condolences to the families of the two young women so tragically killed in recent days, Jastine Valdez and Anastasia Kriegel. I am sure all colleagues will want to join in that.

Perhaps the Leader could arrange to have a debate after the referendum on women's health. I hope, as do all who are canvassing for a "Yes" vote on Friday, that we will wake up on Saturday morning to a more inclusive, caring and compassionate Ireland if the "Yes" vote prevails, which I very much hope it will. It is so important for women's health that we see a change to our law to enable us finally to reform the law on abortion, to lift the absolute bar that exists in the Constitution, and to allow us to legislate for the many women who need to be able to access abortion care services here in Ireland. Anyone who has been canvassing across the country, as I have in recent weeks, will be conscious of how many people accept that the law is too restrictive and that after 35 years it is time for a change. I wish everyone canvassing the very best and hope that the "Yes" vote will prevail on Friday.

Could I also ask the Leader for a debate on a related matter, namely, CervicalCheck? I received much correspondence from many who have been affected by that, both women and men, who have been bereaved because partners or wives have died of cervical cancer and are now deeply concerned about the accuracy of the CervicalCheck system and also concerned about the communication strategies within the HSE, and with consultants and CervicalCheck itself. People are still looking for reassurance in that regard. I know everyone will follow the Scally inquiry closely. On Saturday a group of people gathered at Leinster House to express their concern about the very real issues that still remain on CervicalCheck. We clearly need greater transparency around the guidelines on communication. I know we have had debates on it in the House but we might have an ongoing debate on it, as on other important issues of women's health.

On a positive note I very much thank all those involved in making Friday evening's event in the Seanad Chamber such a success. We held an event as part of the Vótáil 100 programme to commemorate the centenary of women's suffrage in conjunction with the National Museum. It went very well. We had a big crowd in attendance. It was wonderful to see the great interaction with audience members and to get so much support from Oireachtas staff - ushers, communications staff and all of those involved. I thank everyone involved. I also thank the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, CPP, which initially gave permission for the use of the Chamber for this event and for a number of other events run in conjunction with the National Museum.