Today I would like to raise the very worrying reports that the HSE may record a deficit of €200 million or €300 million for the first half of the year without any plan or intimation of a plan in place to reverse that. In 2017, the HSE recorded a net operating deficit of €140 million, yet last week, which was the anniversary of the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadker's, first year in office he made a significant virtue of the fact that he is a master of balancing budgets. This does not seem to be the case.

This matter has a very serious consequences, especially for ordinary people who rely on home help and those in need of mental health services. There has been a reduction in home help hours and a serious crisis in mental health services, especially in the CAMHS sector. These services have been left to languish with little or no support. It is also shocking that the former secretary general, Tony O'Brien, warned the Minister privately that the deficit could reach €800 million for the year, something which was not acted on. This is horrendous. The budget deficit increases have been attributed to older people presenting to hospitals. In a general election manifesto in 2011, the Government ran on a platform of building primary care centres across the country. In Drimnagh in my constituency, we were promised a primary care centre yet to date no sod has been turned and planning is about to run out. What is the Minister's plan in regard to this matter? I call on him to come to the House so that we can ask him how he intends to reverse the deficit and what he intends to do about the roll-out of primary care centres nationally and, more specifically, in Drimnagh.

I wish to raise three issues. There was much discussion in the media over the weekend about the Council of Europe and the anti-corruption body known as GRECO, the Group of States against Corruption. I do not want to pre-empt what I hope will be a lively and engaging debate on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill next week, but suffice to say it is reported in the press that the Chief Justice, Frank Clarke, and other judges have taken the unusual step of writing to GRECO. They raised a number of particularly serious issues in respect of the perceived appointment of judges to upper and higher courts. Could the Leader ascertain from the Minister whether he is committed to publishing the current GRECO report? If he is, can he make it available in advance of the debate on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill next week?

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the new Garda Commissioner designate, the PSNI deputy chief constable, Drew Harris, on his appointment. It is a very imaginative appointment. I wish him well. I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate Dónall Ó Cualáin on what has been a steady hand in terms of An Garda Síochána. He did not have an easy task, but it is worth acknowledging his work.

I thank the Leader for arranging for a debate on the summer economic statement. It will be important.

I want to express my solidarity with and send my best wishes to the family of Pat Finucane who today launched a bid in the UK Supreme Court in London to hold a public inquiry into his murder. The need for an inquiry was agreed at Weston Park in 2001, but the need for truth and disclosure is widely accepted and needs all sides to be supportive of these efforts. Some of the documentation from the British Government has been quoted. Its exhaustive previous examinations have laid bare some very uncomfortable truths. Paid state agents were directly involved in the killing, including the only man ever convicted of involvement in it. Lord Stevens's conclusions paint a picture of a system of agent running by the RUC special branch and the army. I want to wish the Finucane family well. Families should not have to spend decades in courtrooms in order to access the truth.

Where is the Autism Spectrum Disorder Bill 2017? When will it come back before us? While it is not a panacea for the issues surrounding autism and the supports and services that are needed, at least it will go some way to addressing some of the issues through amendments. It is a matter of deep concern that this Government chooses to propose a rainy day fund when I hear from parents all over my county who cannot get respite, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and all the services that children and adults with autism should be entitled to as of right. It is disgraceful. There was a meeting last night and I commend those in Belcarra in Castlebar who organised it. We cannot think of rainy day funds until the most vulnerable people and families in our State are looked after.

People should imagine, while they will leave here in a few weeks' time, and may work in their areas or whatever, what it is like for a carer looking after up to three children with autism to be told he or she cannot have one, two or three days off in the year. It is not right and it must be fixed. Carers need respite as well. They cannot do their job. They cannot function properly. They are working 24-7, 365 days a year and they need a break. They must be prioritised before any rainy day fund. We saw what was done with the last rainy day fund, the pension reserve fund, that was hived off to the bankers. It is wrong and it must be re-examined.

I welcome the Government's announcement today that it will bring forward measures to address the gender pay gap. I very much welcome anything that will bring that forward. However, it is a pity, and I said this to the Minister for Justice and Equality, that the Government did not see fit to use the existing legislation, the Private Members' Bill, that we introduced in this House, which received cross-party support and has passed Second and Committee Stages. The Government could have implemented gender pay gap disclosure measures more speedily through proposing amendments to the Labour Party Bill, which we would have been quite happy to accept and debate in the normal way.

My concern is that introducing a new Government Bill will inevitably delay the introduction of these important measures, which we so badly need, to ensure that we can address the existing gender pay gaps. Would the Leader please pass the message to the Minister that we are concerned that the proposed Bill will bypass legislative provisions that have already been debated in the Seanad? If the Government is going to introduce its Bill it should at the very least be started in the Seanad, given that we have already had a good deal of considered debate on this issue.

I echo Senator Boyhan's concerns about the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017, which was to go to Committee Stage this week. I have tabled over 20 amendments for the Labour Party to make to that Bill but I understand it is not going ahead. Could the Leader let us know whether Committee Stage can proceed at this point, given that we have received reports that the Group of States against Corruption, GRECO, has such significant concerns about some key measures proposed in the Bill, in particular that the provisions around the new judicial appointments commission are not in line with European standards and that a more substantial participation is required. GRECO has urged the Government to reconsider the provisions in order to limit the potential risks of improper influence from the Executive and to ensure that any measures introduced are taken in co-operation with judicial authorities.

Given these concerns the Minister should publish the GRECO report and, furthermore, we should be given some indication of how the Government proposes to address these concerns in its amendments which we have not yet seen. We did debate the Bill on Second Stage last week without knowing its proposed final shape. It is most unsatisfactory and many of us expressed concerns about that last week. While we are mindful of the need for reform of judicial appointment measures, this Bill has been, in the words of the Attorney General, a "dog's dinner" to date and the reports about the GRECO report raise serious additional concerns about the new measures.

Finally, I join with others in wishing the new Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, well. He has a challenging role to fill in terms of ensuring policing reform.

Like other speakers, I wish the new Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, all the best. It is a difficult task to fulfil. I know he has come from a difficult area. I welcome the decision to take someone from outside this jurisdiction to head up An Garda Síochána.

I wish to raise an issue relating to the sports capital programme. I am delighted that €40 million will be allocated but I would like the Leader to ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come to the House for a discussion on it. There are many clubs that want to find out when this process will start. They have also had difficulties with applications in the past. Why have some clubs and organisations failed when it comes to getting the funding for which they have applied? I would welcome it if the Minister could come in here and give us a briefing so that all clubs can hear about it so that when they apply for funding, they will have all their ducks in a row.

I wish to comment on a disgraceful decision by the central competitions control committee, CCCC, of the GAA yesterday regarding the Kildare-Mayo football match. Having watched the draw earlier that morning, the Kildare players were expecting to play the match in Newbridge. What took place showed a total disregard for both players, management and supporters of Kildare GAA and Mayo GAA, which would have expected the game to take place in Newbridge. The CCCC has gone against its own rules. If one sets down rules and regulations, one should at least follow them but this is typical of the GAA hierarchy. It does not have any regard for the people at grassroots level. As far as I am concerned, it is Newbridge or nowhere.