I am sorry to interrupt the Senator but there are conversations going on on one side of the House and I can barely hear the Senator. Senators should be respectful of those who are speaking. Voices carry in the Chamber and people are continually coming in so if Senators want to converse they should go out to the waiting room.

As I was saying, these reliefs are very important opportunities for ordinary working people such as bar workers, nurses, employed electricians, rail workers and others to claim back some small reliefs, for example for the purchase, cleaning or laundering of uniforms. I accept the reliefs have developed on a rather piecemeal basis over the years but now we understand Revenue is carrying out a very broad review of the reliefs and is likely to close them down. For a bar worker, they are worth €93 a year; for an employed electrician, €331 a year; and for a fire-fighter, €272 a year.

This issue was first brought to my attention by mine workers in Tara Mines in Navan, many of whom live in my constituency, who are in receipt of reliefs of €1,312 per year because of the nature of the work they do and associated costs. It now looks like those reliefs will be reduced and, in all likelihood, abolished. Doctors gain about €600 to €700 each year from this relief which involves reclaiming moneys expended on professional subscriptions.

I hope many Members of the House are trade union members. I am and I know Senator Higgins and others are. We are not in a position and neither is any member of a trade union to claim any relief on trade union subscriptions so there is no equity in this. It is important we provide some clarity on it. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Finance to the House at the earliest opportunity to allow us to debate the framework involved, when the decision was taken and whether it is an open and transparent process.

Self-employed people and high-flyers have plenty of reliefs available to them in pension reliefs, property reliefs and so on which are not available to PAYE workers. The abolition of these small reliefs will cause real problems for ordinary working people up and down the country. It is important the Minister comes into the House to state very clearly why the review is taking place and within which framework it is taking place. If it is taking place, it needs to be clear, open and transparent.

Before I get into what I have prepared to speak about, I agree with the remarks made by Senator McDowell. It was a grave mistake to take bedsits out of circulation in Dublin for the student population and many other sectors of the population. As the Senator said, perhaps such people are in worse conditions now. It was a very significant error. I ask the Leader that it be looked at and debated. It is not possible to recreate some of them now but they served a great purpose.

I am delighted the Minister, Deputy McHugh, has decided to review the status of history as an optional subject for the junior certificate, in other words to look at the prospect of making it a compulsory subject again. There are a number of reasons for this. One needs an understanding of the past to understand where we are at now because to have a tolerant society and the kind of respect we should have for others and their traditions, one needs an understanding of where they come from and where and how it all began.

Of course that is not the kind of teaching that is prejudiced; it is holistic, fair teaching of history. In a community like mine in Cavan and Monaghan, and all along the Border, it is particularly necessary. In the context of Brexit, the people understand where the various traditions are coming from. In the decade of centenaries we need to understand people are in different situations and look at things differently. It is necessary to create a tolerant, humane and mutually respectful society. I am very confident that the review, please God, will allow the return of history as a mandatory subject. It is a very civilising and important part of the humanities. It is part of a good holistic education and should be brought back.