Senator Black raised the remarks made by the chief executive of Dublin City Council on homelessness, as did Senator Warfield. The way we can solve the issue of homelessness is to create a platform whereby we can build more houses, increase supply of private and social housing and make housing affordable. That is what the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, is committed to and I am not prepared to say anything beyond that.

Senator Ó Ríordáin referred to Ellie Kisyombe. Information relating to her should not have been revealed in any newspaper. There should not have been any disclosure by anyone concerning her personal circumstances.

As a democrat, I welcome her candidacy and I wish her well. It is certainly not my intention to bring the Minister to the House on the basis of hearsay, to come to the matter raised by Senator Ó Ríordáin.

Senator Conway raised the issue of a number of projects in Clare. I join with him in congratulating the Minister, Deputy Ring, on his stewardship of the Department of Rural and Community Development. I believe the matter he raised concerning projects in Clare is best served through a Commencement matter.

Senator Murnane O'Connor raised the issue of VAT on food supplements. Every week since the Revenue decision to alter VAT, a Member of the House has spoken on it on the Order of Business. I have replied on every occasion that either the Minister or a Minister of State has been here in regard to the issue. It is important to understand that while Revenue removed the concession, oral medicines for humans, including certain folic acids and other vitamin and mineral products, are exempt, as is infant food, and they are all at the zero rate. As the Senator knows, products licensed by the Health Products Regulatory Authority are also at the zero rate. The Minister has put in place a process under the tax strategy group which will report back, and when that report comes back, we will have the debate. I understand the issues raised by the Senator and it is important that we bring clarity to the situation. However, there is also a bit of hype in some quarters, which is their prerogative.

Senators Marie-Louise O'Donnell and Grace O'Sullivan raised the issue of Brexit. In a very fine contribution, Senator O'Donnell highlighted the importance of hearing different voices on Brexit and of those voices, first, being able to articulate a viewpoint and, second, of that viewpoint being listened to and heard. I commend her contribution. As we enter the critical phase, the endgame around Brexit, it is important that the voice of the centre, the voice of reason, is heard, rather than the one extreme we are hearing the whole time in this debate.

Other voices.

Yes. I welcome the clarification by Senator Byrne and the Minister in regard to University Hospital Limerick and the 60 modular beds being delivered this year. It is important that message is promulgated from here.

I understand Senator Devine's frustration regarding the Minister for Health and I know Senator Ardagh has raised the matter before. The difficulty we have is that the Minister was in the other House twice last week and our schedule did not allow for him to come to this House on another day. The Minister is in the other House on a motion of no confidence tomorrow. To be honest, I am endeavouring to have the Minister come to the House and, earlier today, my office was reminding the Minister's office that we have a request for him to come in. To be fair to Senator Ardagh, she did not divide the House on the matter two weeks ago and I hope Senator Devine will not do so today. I will endeavour to have the Minister come to the House at the earliest convenience. We are not sitting on Thursday, as the Senator knows. I would be happy to have him come to the House this evening, if possible, but it is highly unlikely, although I have not been able to check my phone. I would be happy for him to come in next week and I will give a commitment to do that. I apologise that we have not had the Minister in, to acknowledge Senator Ardagh's request of two weeks ago.

Senator Grace O'Sullivan raised the issue of Dr. Liam Lysaght's warning about the 60% loss of biodiversity across the globe, which is an alarming figure. Equally, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, spoke about the need for action with the IFA and farmers recently. Government action to tackle climate change is, as the Taoiseach said, the next big progressive cause. We need to step up our response to the issue of climate change. I am confident that, through the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and Members of this House, such as Senators Grace O'Sullivan, Lombard, Mulherin and others, we can reach cross-party consensus on how we tackle the issue of climate change. I would be happy to have that continuing debate with the Minister in the House.

Senator Colm Burke raised two issues. First, he welcomed the fact that, today, we have 2.28 million people at work, with 50,000 jobs created in 2018, or 1,000 a week. As the Senator rightly said, this illustrates the importance of stability and of having a Government committed to having people at work.

The other point raised by Senator Colm Burke on the entitlement of people who were the previous owners of houses to local authority loans and housing is something on which we need to have a debate. We need a change in outlook and I concur with Senator Colm Burke. Many people today are in the unfortunate world of negative equity and we must do everything we can to get people back on their feet to be able to stay in their own homes and have access to an affordable or local authority loan. A person who sold a house because of desperation should not be penalised forever. I agree with Senator Colm Burke on this.

I would be happy to try to reach an agreement with Senator Devine on the Minister coming to the House rather than dividing the House. If not, I will have to await the Senator's proposal on when she wants the Minister to come to the House.