I would not fault her for doing so. The Senator and I might have the odd barney. She has to mind Deputy Deering also.

Okay.

I do not know whether Senator Ned O'Sullivan touched a nerve or detonated some type of whatever in the House but he certainly raised the issue of Simon Carswell's newspaper article this morning on Mary Casey and her father, Jack, and the atrocities of August 1972. Earlier Senator Mac Lochlainn got very animated. I must say to him that all of us who are republicans and who want to see a peaceful Ireland, as Senator Ned O'Sullivan does and as I am sure Senator Mac Lochlainn does also, recognise there were atrocities that are wrong.

Over 100 years, yes.

Will Senators, please, be calm?

To be fair to Senator Ned O'Sullivan, who is a very balanced person-----

Were there atrocities in the War of Independence?

Please settle.

I am asking questions.

No, but the Senator is not to-----

I have a serious question. Did atrocities take place in the War of Independence?

I am sorry, Senator.

I have asked a serious question.

No. The Senator is not entitled to ask at this stage.

Did atrocities take place in the War of Independence? Okay, I am not going to be responded to.

The Senator is not entitled to ask at this stage.

Did atrocities take place?

The Leader to continue, please.

Did anybody study the history of the War of Independence?

I ask the Leader to stand without inviting more questions.

The point-----

Senator Mac Lochlainn is not entitled to make-----

How many people were buried in the Leader's home county?

Senator Mac Lochlainn is out of order.

How many Protestants were killed in Jerry Buttimer's home county of Cork? Hundreds.

Please, Senator. I ask him to respect the Chair.

The hypocrisy is unbelievable.

The Leader to respond and I do not want anybody else commenting.

Unbelievable.

Order, please respect the Chair. The Leader to respond. I do not want anybody else commenting.

The point I was going to make in reply to Senator Ned O'Sullivan concerned the article he raised, the fact that we are in the midst of a very tense Brexit negotiation and the need for all of us, north, south, east, west, green, white and orange, to uphold the Good Friday Agreement and never go back to the days of violence.

That was not his contribution.

I cannot speak for anyone other than myself.

The Leader to respond with no comments from anybody else.

What I am responding to is-----

The Leader does not have to tell anybody what he is responding to.

In these delicate Brexit negotiations, it is critical that we on the island of Ireland, north, south, east, west, green, white and orange, understand the importance of the next couple of days and weeks. We can never allow our country to go back to the days before the Good Friday Agreement was brought into being. That is the point I am making.

Senator Davitt raised the issue of betting and changes in the budget. The Minister for Finance will be in the House to take the finance Bill and we can have a discussion on the matter then.

I accept Senator Ó Céidigh's amendment to the Order of Business.