I am delighted to be back.

The Senator is probably in Dublin North and Dublin South-Central also.

Senators Ardagh and Clifford-Lee raised the very important issue of BusConnects. I know that Senator McDowell has been knocking on doors about this issue also. The Senators are correct to raise this very important issue. Many of my party colleagues, such as Councillor Emer Higgins and Deputy Rock have also held public meetings on the matter. There is a need to have meaningful consultation. I do not buy the conspiracy theory argument that suggests people are not engaged when the Dáil goes into recess. They are engaged and the fact that many Members of the Houses and councillors have had public meetings shows people are indeed involved and engaged with the process.

What is important, however, and where I agree wholeheartedly with the Senators is that we need to have full public consultation. There needs to be real meaningful dialogue and engagement. What outcome do we want to see? We want to see better routes; increased journeys; and faster bus connectivity. Public transport is something to which the Government is committed. If we need to see an extension of the consultation period, I would have no personal problem with it. The points made by Senator Ardagh and others today were valid.

I have no answer for Senator Ardagh regarding the sale of the John Player site.

NAMA is not open to political engagement. As far as I am aware, engagement with NAMA is precluded under the Act. However, the issue raised is one on which there is need for consultation.

I wish Senator Freeman well in the Presidential election and congratulate her on attaining the nomination and on raising the issue of mental health. Yesterday, I spoke at an event and I made the point that there is a need for mandatory mental health training in the workplace in order that people will have the tools to promote positive mental health and to address stress in the workplace owing to, in some cases, inflexible and long working days. It is important that we recognise that the workplace has changed. In times past, there was considerable emphasis on vocational training and the physical health of employees. We now need to do likewise in respect of mental health and well-being. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, has made changes in the curriculum in terms of well-being but I agree with Senator Freeman that it is important that there be mental health training in the workplace.

Senator Conway-Walsh raised the issue of waiting times for assessments of need, in respect of which she rightly quoted the disability Act and stated the number of applications was way too high. Following on from enactment of the legislation, 1,138 applications were received in 2016. This increased to 5,839 last year. Between 2005 and 2017, 43,521 completed applications were received by the HSE. It is important to recognise that there has been profound change. An assessments of need compliance improvement plan has been put in place by the HSE and the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy Finian McGrath, has allocated additional resources to areas where there are significant backlogs. I agree that we need to erode these waiting times as they are a source of stress to people and families.

On the point raised by Senator Black, the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 was not delayed by the Government in the Lower House, but for other reasons. The Taoiseach is on record as saying as late as yesterday that it is a priority of the Government to have that Bill enacted as soon as possible. It is my understanding the Bill will be back before the Dáil next week. I give the Senator a commitment that the Bill will be taken here as soon as possible after the Dáil has done its work. The Senator will be aware that much of what happens in the Seanad is conditional on the Dáil concluding its business. She is correct that we need to have the conversation about the continued misuse and abuse of alcohol in our society. The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is but one measure in that regard, although an important one. Senator Black is to be commended for the work that she does. Having the type of conversations which bring people on a journey forms part of what we must do.

Senator Bacik raised the issue of the eighth amendment. I welcome the signing into law by President Higgins of the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018. The eighth amendment is now repealed. Those of us who campaigned for it very much welcome that signature yesterday.

Hear, hear.

As the Taoiseach said, the legislation will be brought before the Dáil in the first week of October. It is my intent that the legislation will not be delayed in this House but that is dependent on the co-operation of all sides. I understand that at the meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health this morning concerns were expressed by a variety of spokespersons for different organisations. If the views articulated by the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, and the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in terms of the infrastructure not being in place are true then we need to have that conversation in tandem with the passage of the legislation. I hope that by the end of the year we will have all of the necessary pieces in place. Yesterday's announcement from the Áras was important. Equally important were the comments of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health about the Bill. I look forward to the debate on that legislation and its passage as quickly as possible.

I join Senators Bacik, McDowell, Feighan, O'Sullivan, Murnane O'Connor and Coghlan in welcoming the publication of the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and wishing Drew Harris well in his new role as Commissioner of An Garda Síochána.

I welcome the publication of the report and compliment the chairman, Ms Kathleen O'Toole, on a comprehensive, thorough and thought provoking report. There is universal acceptance that the culture within An Garda Síochána needs to change but, equally, as outlined by the commission, its structure and management, along with the culture and oversight, must also be tackled. I might get attacked on this but 2022 is the centenary of An Garda Síochána and there is a window between now and then to bring about this much needed reform. Members have spoken about the Patten report in the North on what is now the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI. It is a watershed moment for An Garda Síochána, one we should embrace and move forward with. I give a commitment that we will have the Minister in the House to discuss the report.

The report makes many innovative and exciting proposals. I am not going to go through it all but the Minister has requested the Department of Justice and Equality, in consultation with the Department of the Taoiseach, to move quickly to put in place arrangements for an implementation group on policing reform and an implementation programme office, as recommended by the commission. I hope we will debate the report in tandem with what the Government is doing. I join Senators O'Sullivan, Coghlan and others in endorsing the need to have balance in the way people criticise members of An Garda Síochána on social media, in the media or on any other platform. They are guardians of the peace and go about their work professionally - whether it is in sporting organisations, as voluntary stewards, in the traffic corps or during the papal visit. We need to give them support and stand with them.

The Commissioner made comments on the headgear worn at the protest and incident on North Frederick Street. We cannot allow, however, a situation where agitation transcends the rule of law. We must uphold the law at all times; that is what democracy is about. We know what happens if we go down the road of anarchy. The democratic process is one we should all stand up for. An Garda Síochána deserves our support and I support fully the remarks of Senator O'Sullivan about its members.

Absolutely.

On Senator Bacik's point, the Minister for Education and Skills has been in the House to debate the separation of church and State in education. but I will ask him to come back to the House.

Senator Byrne raised the issue of patients on trolleys in Limerick University Hospital. The number is too high and the Government is committed to tackling the waiting lists and it has committed to opening additional beds in Limerick.

I join Senator McDowell in calling for a review of the situation where a citizen can appeal a referendum result. That is outdated, outmoded and has served its time. I say that in the context of many referenda that we have had, whether on children, marriage equality or the eighth amendment. I will explain why I agree with Senator McDowell. We had pre-legislative scrutiny, the Citizens' Assembly and the Constitutional Convention. These provided for all the issues in the relevant referendum to be debated but, in some cases, one person put in serial objections. That is wrong. We should not have a situation where the will of the people is delayed for 90 days or more. I agree fully with Senator McDowell and I will be happy to have a debate on the process where a referendum petition can be put before the courts. I do not oppose people challenging a result, but there must be a way or, as Senator McDowell put it, a threshold that must be overcome. I endorse his remarks in that regard.

I am sorry but Senator Feighan also made the point to which I referred earlier, not Senator Coghlan. With the indulgence of the Chair, I commend Senator Feighan. During the summer he sent all of us a letter with a shamrock poppy to commemorate the sacrifices of Irishmen and Irishwomen who fought and died in the First World War. The Senator has been a champion of marking the significant centenary that is Remembrance Sunday and I thank him for his letter and shamrock poppy. It is particularly important as the centenary is this year on 11 November. It is one on which we, as Members of the Oireachtas, could support him. I thank him again.

Senator Warfield raised the issue of the housing crisis of which the Government is very cognisant. I am very conscious that we have a lot of work to do, notwithstanding that we have work done and undertaken. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has been in the House on numerous occasions. I am happy to have him come back to the House again. We need political parties to make a strategic decision and not table motions of confidence or no confidence in the Minister because, as the leader of Fianna Fáil has said, the latter will not build a single house. We need to adopt a joint approach to tackling housing, which is what happened at the beginning of the Oireachtas term. It beggars belief that members of political parties on councils have opposed and blocked housing developments at a time when we need them.