As we are coming to the end of our session, I want to thank the staff of the Houses for their support and patience throughout the term. I wish all colleagues of all political persuasions a good summer.

I am glad the Leader is here because on the previous two occasions I raised this issue, his deputy was in his place. I have been asking for three years for a debate on the US military's use of Shannon Airport and for three years the Leader has bobbed, weaved, ducked and dived to avoid it. He would make a great American footballer.

Thanks very much.

He has not given us a debate. I ask again for a debate at the earliest opportunity following our return in September, if we return. I draw attention to Edward Horgan in particular, who is a tremendous campaigner on Shannon and a former member of the Army. He pointed out that on 4 July, Miami Air M758MA, which is on contract to the US military, stopped in Shannon to refuel on its way back to the United States from the Middle East. Significantly, its destination in the Middle East was Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, just across the Red Sea from Yemen, where up to 100,000 children have died as the result of a war perpetrated by Saudi Arabia and its coalition. This is not the only aeroplane that has come through Shannon Airport to support that war. Mid-air refuelling planes landed at the airport last year. As the name suggests, these aircraft help refuel planes so they can continue bombing. Of all the wars in the world right now, the war in Yemen is perhaps the most horrific in terms of civilian deaths, and civilian slaughter from bombs in particular. I do not know about anyone else in this Chamber, but I cannot see how anyone can feel comfortable with our airport being used to support that war. We are supposed to be a neutral country. For three years, the Leader has dodged having a debate on this issue. I say that respectfully. I can understand why he has done so as there is no way to justify handing over our civilian airport in Shannon to US military forces. It is an absolute disgrace. I am entitled to a debate, and if we come back in September, I ask the Leader to respect the request I have been making for three years at this point in order that we can have a debate and I can hear where each of the political parties stands on the issue of the US military use of Shannon Airport. I want our civilian airport back and I hope others will join with me in that wish.

Hear, hear.

I first met Noel Whelan in 2013 when I was invited to work with his Democracy Matters campaign to save the Seanad in order to reform it. In 2015, I asked him to assist the Disability Federation of Ireland to make sense of the wider political and civil landscape so we could be more potent in our work. In a 15 minute conversation in the company of my management team, he put me through my paces with a small number of searching questions. He then asked me to tell him of two or three things that define the lives of people with disabilities. He said he liked doing things in threes. The answers given were clearly not precise or accurate enough and Noel's response was that I was talking about poverty, exclusion and loss of hope. He had nailed it as quickly as that. Members have heard me cite that phrase numerous times in this House and I have Noel Whelan to thank for that. I last met him on 27 February, when he agreed to be my guest speaker here in Leinster House where he addressed disability organisations on the relevance of the Seanad to their public benefit work. He was engaging as always and he summed up his presentation with the observation that the Presidency had been reformed over the past 30 years, not through changing the Constitution, but rather through changed perspective and the behaviour of the incumbents, in other words, the two Marys and Michael D. Higgins.

There has been repeated reference this morning, and rightly so, to Noel Whelan's leadership role in both the campaign for marriage equality and to repeal the eighth amendment. However, I have not heard any commentary about his inspiring leadership of the Democracy Matters campaign to save the Seanad. Noel's words on that, which I have repeated, relate to personal and collective behaviour on the parts of Members of the Seanad. They are an invitation to all in this House to re-evaluate our personal behaviour and perspective on our membership. Perhaps the absence of public comment on Seanad reform this morning is due to the perception that there have not been enough changes. The 60 Members of the Seanad are makers or breakers of those changes. Noel Whelan gave leadership and hope to Seanad reform and he has left that unfulfilled hope, in part, with us.

To know the public person is also to know the holder of personal relationships. What I have said is no comfort in the epicentre of the grief and loss of those whom he loved and those who loved him - his wife, his family and his close friends - and we remember that he comes from a large Wexford family, and the love his mother and father gave. His dad was also a long-time member of the county council. May he rest in peace.

I join Senator Dolan, among others, in his very moving tribute to Noel Whelan whose death, sadly, was announced today. Like Senator Dolan I had the pleasure of knowing Noel. I had the privilege of serving with him on the steering group of the Together for Yes campaign and the Repeal the Eighth campaign last year. I had also campaigned alongside him on marriage equality and on the campaign to retain the Seanad. He was a great colleague at the Bar also. I express my sincere sympathy to Sinéad, his wife, and to their family and friends on the sad and shocking loss so young of Noel Whelan. He did so much by way of public service. I join others in paying tribute to him.

As we head into the recess I ask the Leader that we might have a debate on Brexit early in the next term. Clearly that will be the pressing issue as we return, and I have no doubt it will also dominate the political discourse through the summer. I welcome the incoming President of the European Commission, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen's confirmation today that there will be no change to the backstop provision of the withdrawal agreement. This is very welcome to hear. I also welcome her commitment to gender balance on the membership of the Commission, which is very important. I very much look forward to hearing who the Government will name as its woman candidate, alongside Commissioner Phil Hogan.

Is the Senator interested?

No, I am not personally interested, but I thank the Leader for asking. I support the Tánaiste's critique, reported today, of the leadership contenders for the Conservative Party as an "utterly disingenuous debate". As British-US relations deteriorate to a new low following the forced resignation of the British ambassador to the US, Mr. Kim Darroch, we can only watch in dismay the developments in British politics and just hope that sense will be seen over the summer, and that there will be some move by the British side to ensure we do not see a chaotic and catastrophic no-deal Brexit in October.

Will the Leader ensure we have a debate early post-recess on the new exclusion zone legislation promised by the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris? I have been calling for this legislation for some months now, as have others. Certainly, the need for the passage of such legislation has become more pressing as we have seen awful protests taking place outside hospitals, especially the Holles Street National Maternity Hospital. These people are opposed to abortion, which in itself is fine because this is their democratic view, but very distressing images and props are being used and it appears they are seeking to intimidate and obstruct women who are accessing services, and others who seek to access maternity services. This includes women who may have received devastating diagnoses of fatal foetal abnormality and family members who may be visiting very ill premature babies in hospital. These protests are not democratic and they should not be supported by anyone who has any compassion. I hope we see exclusion zone legislation coming in to protect women seeking to access services that were democratically voted for by the people in the referendum last year.

I note that 3 August this year marks the fifth anniversary of the horrific massacre of the Yazidi community in Iraq by ISIS. This will be marked by the UN and by the international community. I wanted to inform colleagues that this will be taking place on 3 August.

I wish everyone well over the recess. I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Leas-Chathaoirleach and all the staff in the Seanad Office, especially the Clerk of the Seanad, Martin Groves, and the Clerk Assistant, Bridget Doody, for their support and kindness over the past term.