I raise a matter related to agriculture. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine appeared in the Chamber earlier and we discussed important issues such as diversification and the challenges facing communities. In particular, we spoke about the beef crisis, although I do not intend to rehash all of that now. We had a meaningful engagement and discussion. The Minister spoke about developing and appointing new agricultural attachés in a number of embassies. As I was leaving the Chamber earlier, it occurred to me that the Leader might be able to arrange for the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, who has special responsibility for horticulture, to appear before the House when he has a free slot in the next month or two. Important food related matters are traceability, quality and branding, not least in respect of Bord Bia, the expansion of new markets, and the diversification of agriculture, perhaps moving to a lesser reliance on beef.

This week a number of gentlemen who had resided in Tuam visited me with a member of Galway County Council. It was a harrowing and moving experience. The men were farmed out at seven years of age to do hard labour on farms. They were meant to consider it great charity. One of them told me he had been left a small holding but eventually had to sell it. The authorities did not accept that the man had been fostered. Although it was an informal arrangement, his guardians had loved and cared for him but he had to pay all the taxes and was left with nothing. It was very unfair. The men told me they did not have a medical card. They had been broken and destroyed by a system. They wanted independent counselling they could trust - not just the assistance that was given to them - and they needed greater help and support. They asked for health and housing supports. Surely the State owes that to people who come from institutions where it had a primary responsibility and duty to protect them and their welfare.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, should come to the House to update us and to reassure us of what is happening, specifically regarding Tuam. It is important that the people affected know that we in these Houses are advocating for them and will support them. I ask that the Minister outline what the State can do in terms of providing medical cards for these people. What can we do in terms of housing for these people? What can we offer them in terms of independent counselling and support to allow them to get on and live their remaining years? How can we address the issue of inheritance from people who may have been their guardians and cared for them, people who stepped in as their parents and gave them a job, even if it meant picking potatoes or snagging a few turnips at the age of eight, nine or ten? We need to have the Minister back here to have a conversation and to be reassured that these issues are at the top of her agenda.

I concur with what Senator Horkan said about the Stardust tragedy. Some of us here are old enough to remember the events of 38 years ago. There was no social media and hardly any telephones then. As a young woman I remember listening to the news getting drip-fed through to us. A fog of sadness and shock fell over Dublin. There were no answers at that time. The families and those who survived have fought for 38 years. This is a momentous day and a good decision by the Attorney General to reopen an inquest on the basis of new evidence available. I have raised the matter repeatedly. This is the time to congratulate the ordinary people of Dublin. They held steadfast and did not give up. They want the correction of the record which has already been corrected to say that it was not arson, but the correction that this inquest will bring to honour their loved ones, ordinary working-class people on the north side of Dublin. We need to embrace them and thank them for their tenacity in keeping the issue alive. This is an injustice that needs to be righted.

I wish to raise the issue of children with autism in the education system. The right to an education is one of the few rights enshrined in our Constitution, yet we continually deny it to children who have extra needs. I welcome the opening of seven classes in the Dublin 15 area under legal notices sent by the Minister, who is doing the right thing. The teachers and principals have difficulty with training, capacity, space, etc. We need to uphold and abide by the Constitution. Payment for home tuition for these autistic children is being delayed. Reduced hours are being offered - perhaps only one hour a day. In one case, the parents are often called to come in and take the child. When the child has issues and engages in acting out behaviour due to their diagnosis, the advice is to call the Garda. This is a six year old child. We should not be criminalising our children. I welcome this measure, and I hope we will speedily see provision of education for all in their communities and not 100 million miles away.

I join others in welcoming the announcement on the Stardust inquiry reopening. I am one of the people old enough to remember that awful tragedy and the appalling day when we heard the news. I was a teenager and it was horrific. I express my utter admiration for the families who have worked so hard for so long and have been so eloquent in their advocacy for the children they lost. It is heartbreaking to listen to them. I am so glad the Attorney General has taken this decision on which I commend him.

I support Senator Boyhan's call for the Minister, Deputy Zappone, to come to the House to discuss the Tuam issue.

This morning I spoke alongside the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, at the launch of a new Women's Aid report entitled Unheard and Uncounted. This is a very important report on women and domestic abuse, documenting ongoing issues and failures in our criminal justice system, notably the lack of data on cases of domestic violence and how they are dealt with through the system, and the lack of joined-up processes between the criminal courts and the family courts regarding women and children who are victims of domestic abuse.

As pointed out at the launch, we have legislated in recent times to improve processes through the Domestic Violence Act, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act and also the Judicial Council Act which will allow for sentence guidance. However, there are ongoing problems for women trying to achieve justice through the courts. I ask for a debate on domestic violence looking at the recommendations in this important report and seeking to uncover where we can make improvements through legislation and where we can get commitments from the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, on improvements to processes. I seek that debate as a matter of urgency.

Yesterday during our very stimulating debate on the Blasphemy (Abolition of Offences and Related Matters) Bill, Senator Ned O'Sullivan pointed out the need for legislation on hate crime. A number of us have been pressing for that for some time. There is a good deal of research and a review is ongoing. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, referred to that review during the debate on the Blasphemy (Abolition of Offences and Related Matters) Bill. It would be very useful for this House to debate how we might best seek to legislate against hate crime in future, building on the existing research and the work of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and others.