I call on the Leader who may be expecting a very good Christmas, given that Senator Devine referred to him as a Minister on two occasions, to respond. Maybe there will be something special in his Christmas stocking this year.

That is possibly the last of the good news from Senator Devine for a while-----

It is not be beyond the bounds of possibility that someone from the Senate could be appointed to the Cabinet.

I do not think I will be following in the footsteps of the late Senator James Dooge, but perhaps we should all aspire to that.

I join the Cathaoirleach in thanking Ms Bridget Doody and all the Seanad staff for their sincere professionalism in what was a very trying and long week last week. I also welcome back our esteemed Clerk and friend, Mr. Martin Groves, and offer him the sincere sympathy of all in the House on the very sad passing of his brother, Tony. I know that Martin appreciates that we stood last week for a minute's silence in his brother's honour. I thank Martin for his continued service and coming back to the House today. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

I also join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming our esteemed guests to the House, Mr. Bruce Knotts and his husband Isaac Humphrey who are here today as guests of Senator Wilson. It is important, in the context of the contribution of Senator Gavan, that the work Mr. Knotts has done around the world in promoting diversity, equality and in fighting homophobia be commended. He is also involved in the biggest global challenge of our generation, that of climate change, which speaks volume about him. As a member of this House and the LGBT community, I welcome them both and thank them for being here. I hope they are not led astray by Senator Wilson. I offer them a sincere céad míle fáilte.

Senators Horkan, Conway-Walsh, Norris and Craughwell raised the incident in Strokestown, County Roscommon, at the weekend. The horrific nature of the incident has captured the public imagination. Local gardaí have described it as criminal damage and assault. While I am not familiar with all the circumstances, nobody wants to see anyone evicted from his or her family home or property. It is important to recognise that there is a process involved in an eviction that must be followed. The eviction took place on foot of a court order. Engagement is critical in all such circumstances. Every effort must be made to ensure people do not lose their family home.

As Members will be aware, prior to last weekend the Government had convened an interdepartmental group which will report to the Minister for Justice and Equality early next year. The purpose of that group is to examine the administrative and legislative resources and other matters required to provide for the regulating and licensing of private security personnel assisting in enforcing court orders. It is important that we do that. Our language and behaviour are also important and critical. We are very fortunate that we have a very strong and very fair An Garda Síochána. We must support it at all times. There are wrongs on all sides of the incident that happened at the weekend. I condemn utterly the barbaric nature of the events. Equally it is important that we understand the full facts of the situation before us. Engagement by both sides, particularly the lending institutions, is critical.

With respect, we need some sort of legislation or ministerial order requiring evidence that engagement had taken place.

I will be happy to have the Minister come to the House to have a debate on the whole wider issue in due course. As I said, none of us wants to see people evicted. All parties involved have obligations and responsibilities. It is important that reasonable voices are heard rather than just the loudest or the voices of the baying mob. It is about everybody being heard.

Which Minister will be invited to the House? Will it be the Minister for Justice and Equality?

I assume the Minister for Justice and Equality would be the relevant Minister. That is what I would envisage. I will revert back to Senator Horkan in due course.

The Senator, with Senators Conway-Walsh and Devine, also made reference to the issue of the national children's hospital. Any of us who is fair and who has been involved in this issue must be concerned about the rising costs. I was involved as Chair of the Joint Committee on Health and Children for five years. An explanation is needed. I am talking off the top of my head now but, even allowing for some type of construction inflation, the level of increase is way beyond what would be envisaged, notwithstanding the contribution of Senator Devine regarding the local issue. Before the last general election I was on the Joint Committee on Health and Children and we went on a site visit. There are local concerns, as Senator Devine has said. I know that she and other Members from her constituency area such as the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, have articulated and voiced those concerns and met local residents. I have been part of groups that have met local residents in the past.

We all want to see a national children's hospital constructed. We need it. The country requires it. In saying that, however, it is also important to say this could potentially have an impact on other capital projects and that is very unfair. I believe Senator Conway-Walsh was indirectly accusing me through her implication regarding Sinn Féin economics. The important point is that the Government signed off on a project of €1 billion in April 2017. We are very much committed to it. It is important that we understand and hear what the Minister had to say at the Cabinet today. As I am not in the Cabinet, I am not familiar with the up-to-date situation. We will have that debate in due course.

The Leader will be back in the Cabinet soon.

I thank the Senator.

The issue Senator Craughwell raised about St. Vincent's University Hospital was discussed on the Order of Business last week. I referenced the contribution of Dr. Rhona Mahony on the Marian Finucane programme. That is the best reference point. Again we can debate that issue as part of the overarching debate on health in the new year.

Senator Craughwell also mentioned the issue of Brexit, which is ongoing. It has certainly been heightened by the decision of the Tory Party last week to hold a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister and the decision by the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, to place a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister before the House of Commons. The important point is that the Taoiseach, the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, Deputy McEntee, and the Tánaiste are very much aware of the need to up our preparations for a hard Brexit. We are still not giving up on a deal being achieved. Our deal took two years to negotiate. By "our deal" I mean the deal between the European Union and the British Government. The Taoiseach met with Prime Minister May in Brussels last week, as the Senator knows. They had a very good conversation.

Ireland's perspective has not changed. The deal that has been put forward is the only deal on the table. While many people will disagree on its composition, we all agree the best deal is on the table. As Senators will be aware, the Tánaiste has been in charge of the preparations for the Government's contingency planning across all Departments. The Government is preparing for all eventualities. The Cabinet has mandated that all Departments will give full priority to their plans for a no-deal Brexit or a disorderly Brexit, if that were to happen. It is important to recognise that we have seen some public demonstrations of contingency planning such as the hiring of customs officials. The Government is committed to being ready. There is no such thing as a good Brexit. It is not good and they are the fundamentals.

Senators Boyhan and Norris raised the issue of vegetable production. I will be happy to invite the Minister of State with responsibility for horticulture, Deputy Doyle, to come to the House in the new year.

I congratulate all involved in the successful opening of the beds in the National Rehabilitation Hospital, as mentioned by Senator Boyhan.

I will certainly consider the request that Senator Boyhan has made today on the Order of Business regarding the Order Paper or the scheduling of events.

What does that mean?

What does what mean?

The Leader referred to "the scheduling of events" on the Order Paper.

I was speaking about the ordering of the schedule. The Senator should speak to Senator Boyhan about what-----

I spoke to him about this specific issue before he left the Chamber. His understanding is the Leader is aware of time slots that should be brought to the House-----

In fairness to the Leader, he has said he will consider it positively. He should be allowed to do that before reverting to Senator Boyhan. Otherwise, we are going to be-----

I remind the House - I will say this again during the week - that there is very non-acrimonious co-operation by all sides, by and large, when the business of the House is being scheduled. As I have outlined on the Order of Business today, the putting of times might mean we would not necessarily run into each other. I will consider the request. Since I became Leader of the House, I have been all in favour of making the House a better House in terms of how we do our business and allowing all sides to be heard. I have a job to do as Leader. There are others who want to be Leader. Perhaps there are others who want to take over the running of the country. That is their prerogative.

The Senator should not be worried. We will protect him.

The Leader is in situ.

Senator Ó Ríordáin referred to the confidence and supply agreement. It is welcome that he is alarmed that there will be no election this year or next year. In light of the uncertainty around Brexit, all of us are pleased that the country will continue to have a Government in place without the threat of an election. This will allow us to bring Ireland forward. Incomes are up, unemployment is at an all-time low and there has been a decrease in the poverty and deprivation index for the fourth year in a row. We have challenges to face in health and housing. I hope we will see progress in that regard in the next 12 months.

I join Senators Ó Ríordáin and Byrne in hoping the 2020 women in sport targets will be met. We all welcome the fact that high levels of participation and interest in women's sport, and attendances at women's sports events, have been achieved. Women's sport in Ireland has reached an all-time high. I commend our hockey team on its victory in the RTÉ sports star awards at the weekend. Many fine individual female sports stars have become role models as part of our galaxy of sports stars.

I take the point made by Senator Conway-Walsh regarding auditing. Believe it or not, I share her views on the CMA recommendations. We need to hold auditing firms to account. It cannot be just one or two firms that are held to account; everybody must be held to account. There are people who signed off on accounts even though they should not have done so. It is important to highlight this issue.

Senator Lawlor spoke about the payouts associated with soft tissue injuries. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, has done considerable work on that issue. I would be happy for him to come to the House in the new year.

I commend the people of Ballybay who have shown their community spirit and their spirit of entrepreneurship to ensure the town is open for business this Christmas, as mentioned by Senator Gallagher.

I join Senator Byrne in welcoming the decision to award EU transport corridor status to Shannon Foynes Port Company. I congratulate those involved.

It is welcome that the Shannon Foynes Port Company has been awarded EU transport corridor status today. It is one of nine ports across Europe awarded this status. Senator Byrne has been a champion of Shannon Foynes Port in this House and raised issues for it on a number of occasions, for which I thank her.

With regard to Senator Devine, we had better put our swords back in their scabbards for a minute. The issue of nurses' pay has come to the fore again through the decision of a number of unions to engage in industrial action. I certainly hope this can be avoided. I made the point earlier that engagement is the way forward. All of us recognise that we have recruited more nurses, we have restored the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, cuts and that there is a need for all of us to work together. The Department of Health will meet the oversight committee this week to further engage. I certainly hope that industrial action can be avoided. It does not help any situation and I do not see how nurses going on strike can benefit the health system. I understand they have a democratic right to engage in industrial action but I hope all sides will engage properly and meaningfully in order it we can avoid that at all costs.

Senator Gavan spoke about today being International Migrants Day. I have given an answer to the Senator before on the issues he has raised. I am a person who does not stand up for what the Senator has described. There is a duty on all of us, at national and at European level, to ensure our parties are part of groupings that promote human rights at all times.