I thank the 14 Members of the House for their contributions to the Order of Business. I dtús báire Senator Ardagh raised the issue of the national maternity hospital. With regard to the maternity strategy, I alert the Seanadóir to the fact that we have a national maternity strategy up and running. Significant developments in the delivery of the national maternity strategy have already occurred. I remind Senator Ardagh that €3 million was allocated to the development of maternity services in 2016, €6.4 million was allocated in 2017, €4.15 million was allocated in 2018, and an additional €3.1 million has been allocated to the national women and infants programme in 2019. This is all extra money. One point to be made in respect of our maternity services is that 15 of the 19 maternity hospitals are now able to offer routine anomaly scanning. This is an improvement and there is more to come.

With regard to the Rotunda, the Minister, the Government and all of us are fully aware of the concerns raised by Professor Malone. The Department's priority has always been the welfare of the infants affected by the outbreak of the bacterial infection. The Department has been in regular contact with the hospital to ensure that appropriate care is provided. The matters the Senator has spoken about with regard to development have had no impact on the issues relating to the healthcare-associated infection she mentioned. I will point out to her that €7 million has been invested in the last two years, comprising an allocation of €2 million in 2018 and €5 million this year. The Minister is working with the Government, the HSE, and the hospitals to ensure our maternity hospitals are fully resourced and fully staffed. I am happy to have the Minister come to the House in that regard. On the matter of Facebook's currency, I am happy to have the relevant Minister come before the House.

Senators McDowell and Norris raised the issue of Dublin Port. I suggest to Senator McDowell that he may get a more expeditious reply to his legitimate concerns by talking to the Leas-Chathaoirleach about the Seanad Public Consultation Committee doing some work on the issue. To be fair to the Senator, rather than having, as he said, a participative debate, we may need to do some more substantive work on the matter.

I agree. That is a good idea.

The points he made regarding "A New Heart for Dublin" are very relevant. These points could also apply to Cork or Galway. I very much regret that we did not choose to have a directly elected mayor for Cork. I believe that a directly elected mayor in Cork, Galway, Limerick or Dublin could transform and drive change in the city. It is regrettable that the leader of the Fianna Fáil Party abdicated his responsibility in Cork city and did not campaign for a directly elected mayor.

There must be an election coming.

Such campaigning would have served the people of Cork better than playing petty partisan politics. The point the Senator makes is highly relevant to the future of our capital city. Senator Norris, who is not present but that is not my problem, raised the issue of-----

He will still get a headline.

-----the use of credit cards in Dublin Port Company. It is an independent company and the article is based on a leak. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing or misallocation. The expenses were approved. I am not condoning the expenditure but, in the absence of the person in question, we must be careful about what we say and about how we present issues. As the Senator will know, there have been calls - which I support - for representatives of Dublin Port to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts. The Chairman of the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport has also asked for such a meeting. I am all for accountability and transparency but we also need to be fair to people. I fully agree with Senator McDowell regarding the issue of Dublin Port. We should be encouraging cruise liners to come to our capital city because they are a source of tourist revenue and their visits are an opportunity to showcase our country and city. We should also encourage them to come to Cork, where the Port of Cork is engaged in a very strong, proactive campaign in respect of cruise liners. I would be happy to talk to the Senator about progressing the suggestions he has made regarding this matter.

Senators Conway-Walsh and Craughwell raised the issue of education in the context of today's briefing by the Union of Students in Ireland, USI. There are record numbers of people in third level education, which we welcome. There are challenges in our third level sector and I am happy to have the Minister of State, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, come to the House.

Senator Ó Ríordáin raised the issue of Irish Rail. We all congratulate Irish Rail on the innovative decision it has taken to provide a text messaging service to allow passengers to alert security to anti-social behaviour. It is important to have a more robust regime around anti-social behaviour. It has an effect on many people in different communities. It affects people of all ages including some of the most vulnerable in society. Many people now live in fear in particular parts of our country because of anti-social behaviour. We should send out a strong message that there is no need to tolerate it any longer. The Senator also mentioned the issue of the decriminalisation of drugs. I am happy to have the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, come to the House in that regard.

Senator Hopkins raised the issue of Portiuncula Hospital, as did Senator Leyden, who has left the Chamber. Yesterday marked the anniversary of the Senator's first election to the Dáil as part of Jack Lynch's infamous wave in 1977. I congratulate him on that in his absence. Senator Hopkins has been an advocate of the 50-bed replacement block at Portiuncula Hospital. I am happy to have the Minister come to the House in that regard.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue of the Army Ranger Wing going to Mali. As the Senator is aware, the Dáil debated the matter last week. I understand the concerns about the mission expressed by many. It is not a decision a Government or Minister takes lightly or in isolation. I thank all of our troops from the Army Ranger Wing and wish them godspeed and safekeeping in their mission.

Will we have a debate here on the matter?

It is not a matter for this House. The decision by the Minister is based upon advice given to him by the military, as the Senator knows quite well. Some 12 rangers are going and they will be working with a German contingent on intelligence-gathering patrols. If the Senator wishes to raise any particular matters, I suggest it may be more expeditious to do so through a Commencement matter debate.

Senator Mulherin raised the issue of work permits, on which Senator Boyhan also touched. It is a matter of concern. Huge gaps need to be addressed. The Minister is working on them and I am happy to have her come to the House in that regard.

Senator Gavan raised the issue of the National Minimum Wage (Protection of Employee Tips) Bill 2017. Lest he again put up a video of me laughing, I was not laughing at the decision of the Dáil, I was laughing at the Senator's use of democracy. He can speak about playground politics but that is what he is playing here today, as he is entitled to. The matter is one for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.

Senator Feighan raised the issue of the Ana Kriégel case. I will not make any comment other than that we offer our sympathies to the family. Many people are traumatised by the reporting of the case. There are victims today who are bereaved and suffering. As the Senator said, the matter is still before the courts.

Senators Bacik and Norris raised the issue of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 which, as Senator Bacik said, targeted demand for prostitution.

It was about the criminalisation of the purchase of sex, not the selling of sex. A broad coalition of differing groups was in favour of the change we supported in this House. It is about advocating for women's rights and women. The survey quoted by Senator Norris was done on an app and I would question its validity. All of us want women protected. None of us condones or supports any attack on women, particularly in the case of sex workers who are violently attacked. If people understand anything, they should report these crimes to An Garda Síochána as a matter of urgency. The legislation also tackles trafficking. It is also about ensuring that there is accountability. None of us wants to go back to the debate on the Bill but the points made by Senator Bacik were well made.

Senator Boyhan also raised the issue of climate action. It is my intention that the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment will come to the House in the coming weeks to have that debate if possible given the legislative timetable. I would make the point to Senator Norris, who was begrudging in his comments about the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill, that Senators Horkan, Bacik and Leyden made comments about the Bill while others on the Government side also spoke privately to the Minister and me about it. As I said yesterday, I will reflect upon it. I spoke with a number of Members along with the Minister and some of her advisory staff yesterday. This is a very important and sensitive Bill dealing with competing rights. I was not being in any way adversarial but if we are to achieve what people have failed to achieve over the past 20 years, we must listen and engage further. That is what the Minister is doing. I thank the House for its co-operation, particularly Senators Bacik and Horkan.

Senator Ó Domhnaill raised the issue of the INTO briefing earlier, which is an education matter, and the budget. The Minister will publish the summer economic statement soon and we will have a debate on that in due course. Comments were made about the IMF. I am sure that as part of the debate, the IMF can be referred to as well. I thank the Acting Chairman for his willingness to act as temporary Chair today and tomorrow. I hope he has a very successful tenure in the Chair. Perhaps it might be a forerunner to future activity.

I will try to walk before I try to run but I thank the Leader for his sentiments.