On a more sombre note, 28 years ago, veteran journalist, David McKittrick, BBC journalists, Chris Thornton and Seamus Kelters, political commentator, Brian Feeney, and later David McVea, sat down to write a book. The book would record the stories of every man, woman and child killed during the Troubles, a book that would stand in isolation as the only record of the fate of every one of the 3,700 lives destroyed by the Troubles, including Members of this House and victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. It took an arduous and painstaking eight years to complete the task and in 1999 they duly published their work, Lost Lives, as a testament to remember those individuals, every man, woman, child and baby, lest they were forgotten.

The impact this book had was monumental. It included revelations to many families regarding the loss of a loved one, details and circumstances that many had never been aware of. The book has been read and referenced by academics and students and has been shared and studied in churches and chapels, with many readers moved to tears by the sheer scale and loss of human life and families destroyed by the horrors of conflict.

However, that is not why I speak today. Last night I attended the Queen's Film Theatre in Belfast to watch "Lost Lives", the film, 20 years on from the book. This is a film best described as "a requiem for those killed in the Troubles". The film is the work of Belfast directors, Dermot Lavery and Michael Hewitt of DoubleBand Films. For 90 minutes, it weaves together an intricate tapestry of archive footage, music and powerful visual imagery to a backdrop of bombs, gunfire, devastation and destruction.

Probably most strikingly and hauntingly, the voices behind the narrative are not the victims but rather a who's who of Irish acting talent. Apparently none needed to be asked twice to participate. All were willing participants, no doubt seeing the value of this work. They make up a list comprising household names such as Liam Neeson, Kenneth Branagh, Adrian Dunbar, Bronagh Gallagher, Stephen Rea, James Nesbitt, Brendan Gleeson, Roma Downey, Susan Lynch, Martin McCann, Ian McElhinney, Michael Smiley, Bronagh Waugh and Bríd Brennan, all lending their voices to the stories of the lost lives, accompanied by a very moving, emotive score performed by the Ulster Orchestra.

What it demonstrates is the futility of conflict - the hurt, the pain, the loss and suffering of conflict. It is a recognition and a stark reminder that there are no winners, only losers. No one escapes the horror, no one has a monopoly on pain and no one should ever forget because it is by remembering the hell that we fulfil our responsibility to ensure this never happens again.

Probably the most moving moment was at the end credits when every Troubles death is listed year by year on screen, name after name, line after line, concluding with the single name in 2019, of Lyra McKee, murdered by dissident republicans earlier this year. The list is a truly horrifying demonstration of the monumental loss of life. As the credits finished and the lights went up, last night was the first time in my life that I left a cinema when absolutely no one spoke. Not a word was being uttered, highlighting the power of this film, and the painful emotions and memories it evoked. It reminded me of a funeral cortege or that silence associated with the respect and reverence of remembrance.

This film is a very important piece of work. It premiered at the London Film Festival last week and at Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast from Friday, 10 October. It is planned that "Lost Lives" will be screened by the BBC later this year. I urge that this film be seen across the Twenty-six Counties and not just the Six Counties. Someone needs to make sure people can see it. It should be screened in order that we all reflect, and that we all dispel any notion that this was a proud or glorious moment in our history on the island of Ireland because it certainly was not.

The pain and hurt etched on the faces and families destroyed by grief and suffering in this film should serve as a reminder that we never glorify this or go back to these horrors. Everybody on the island needs to view this piece of genius. Everybody needs to ensure these horrors never happen again. I urge the Leader and this House to use their influence to ensure everyone has the opportunity to see this work and to understand that we should never veer into idle chat about identity, culture and nationality in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland without understanding the hell and hurt so many have suffered. All need to see this work, because we all have a responsibility to never repeat the past especially in these turbulent political times.

The report in today's newspaper about University Hospital Limerick makes very stark reading. I have had contact from people who were there as patients in the past 24 hours and from staff. Eighty people are on trolleys and it reached a national all-time high of 82 in the past month. It is frightening to think that we are not into the winter months and yet 80 people are on trolleys.

A person with a family member who is very seriously ill contacted my office. While I appreciate the patient had to be moved to another hospital because of the nature of their illness, the centre of excellence for the person's illness is actually in University Hospital Limerick. While I know it was for the person's safety, it is not acceptable that they were moved.

The injury units in Nenagh and Ennis are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the unit in St. John's is open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. However, we need to look at making better use of the other complementary hospitals to University Hospital Limerick because every day, the numbers are increasing. It is quite serious at this stage and is at breaking point.

I asked the Minister to visit the hospital unannounced because I always felt when his visits were announced in the past, certain things were hidden. I understand from speaking to him that he discovered things that might not have come to light, had he announced he was going. There needs to be a plan. The matter was raised at the recent Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. I understand the extra scanner is under way. It might be a portable one, but anything that will ease the plight of the staff and really ill patients is welcome.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to take No. 13, the Industrial Relations (Joint Labour Committees) Bill 2019, before No. 1.

I wish to reflect on the points so articulately and eloquently put by Senator Marshall. We should never forget what the conflict inflicted on far too many people on this island, on our neighbouring island and elsewhere.

I absolutely agree that "Lost Lives" should be essential viewing for all citizens of this State, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. We must always remember the horror inflicted on our people in those dark days from the late 1960s through to the Good Friday Agreement, not forgetting the tragic loss of Lyra McKee, who was murdered this year. Peace is fragile. We must remember that one of the central tenets of the Good Friday Agreement and one of the things that will make sure we will never return to those dark days is recognising the right of all individuals to their identity as British, Irish or both. As a consequence of a judgment on an appeal by the British Home Office yesterday, the right of Emma DeSouza to be Irish and have her Irish identity recognised by the British state was not upheld. This afternoon the Taoiseach recognised her as an Irish citizen and somebody who has, as a matter of fact, an Irish passport. He has said the issue will be raised again by the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, in meetings with the British authorities and ministers this week. With respect, tea and sympathy are not what is required. We need strong action by the British Government to make sure that, as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the right of citizens in the North to identify as Irish will be protected, as is the right to be considered British, and that they will have the full protection of the law in that respect.

I agree with the statement made by my colleague Senator Norris on the behaviour of the Turkish regime towards the Kurdish population in northern Syria. It is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable. The Kurdish people are among the most tormented of races on the planet and this has been the case since time immemorial. The actions of Turkey must be condemned by the House. I know many Turkish people living in Ireland who are good friends of mine, who do not accept what is happening and who find themselves at odds with the decision made by the Erdoan Government to engage in these horrific and reprehensible acts, which do not reflect the wishes of the Turkish people I know, who want to live in peace and respect the rights of the Kurdish people. We know that this genie was allowed to emerge from the bottle by the actions of the US President, Donald Trump. It is entirely unacceptable. I support the proposal of my colleague Senator Norris that we protest to the Turkish ambassador about the behaviour of the Turkish regime in what is happening in northern Syria. It is absolutely unacceptable and should be deplored by everybody in the House.

I second Senator Nash's amendment to the Order of Business.

This morning I attended a presentation made by Senator Freeman in the AV room on the Children's Digital Protection Bill, which we discussed last year and has reached Committee Stage. Its purpose is to safeguard children exposed to legal but harmful and age inappropriate web content and place responsibility on the hosts for the distribution of the information and making it available to children. People can go on the dark web to get step-by-step instructions every day for 50 days on how to self-harm. At the end of the 50 days they will be told how to complete suicide. This is affecting young children aged ten years and younger. We are still in mental health and well-being week. These online forums are seen as normal. It is seen as normal behaviour to be promoted, but it is so damaging. Some sadistic individuals are capturing young children and, after 50 days of induction, asking them to complete suicide. I would certainly not allow a child to enter a room alone with one person not knowing what the conversation was going to be about.

This particular conversation is frightening. There are also special forums on how to be the best anorexic in the world. It is a normalisation of dysfunction. The forums' effect on our children's health and well-being is renowned. At 1 p.m. tomorrow, the community groups Hug and Mental Health Warriors will gather outside the gates of Leinster House to protest for more fit-for-purpose services for our children and for us as legislators to protect our children.

I concur with Senator Marshall on that most wonderful book, Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. It is the best historical journalism that this country has ever seen. It shows that there are human stories behind the statistics. It is a book of remembrance and one that I have taken out of the Oireachtas Library many times. Seemingly, buying the book would cost between €200 and €400. However, I would tell students, public servants, politicians or anyone else to take out the book. If we do not remember our past, we will be doomed to fail in future. I am delighted to see that it will now be shown on screen. It is horrific and harrowing. We sometimes forget that there were 3,700 or so deaths.

On the issue of events preceding matters, partition was conceived in this country on this day 100 years ago. It was the first meeting of the committee that effectively recommended two parliaments, North and South, on the island of Ireland and a council of Ireland. We are in a state of historical analysis. The UK Government has been told to submit by midnight proposals to replace the backstop or else the deal will be off. I was delighted by what happened with Prime Minister Johnson and the Taoiseach last week, as the situation is moving in the right direction. It is a pathway that could allow the UK to leave the EU without crashing out. What we have always said is that we must avoid a hard border and protect our place in the Single Market. Most importantly, the Good Friday Agreement can never be touched or threatened. I hope that, in the coming days, we will devise a proposal and work together so that, whatever happens with Brexit, the agreement will work again.

Brexit has damaged relations on the island of Ireland and between Ireland and the EU and the UK. As politicians, we must work twice as hard to try to repair that damage. There were never going to be winners out of Brexit, but we must ensure that, whatever happens, there is a deal with which everyone is satisfied.

I second Senator Murnane O'Connor's proposed amendment. I agree with the sentiments she expressed regarding Garda resources. I attended a meeting of the Monaghan joint policing committee last weekend at which the chief superintendent outlined his concerns about the lack of resources with which he had to work. I believe he stated that, by the end of the year, he would be down to eight patrol cars to cover his division. He outlined that he had a serious problem and stated that, when he picked up the phone to look for help, he was told that there was no money.

I wish to raise two issues relating to the farming community. Today is the final date for the spreading of slurry. The deadline needs to be extended to accommodate those farmers who are trying to put slurry on their lands. There has been an exceptional period of heavy rain, so much so that lands across the country are impassable to machinery. In some cases, it is not even possible to have livestock out on lands. I understand that many farmers throughout the country have been forced to house cattle because of the ground conditions. The farming community needs the deadline to be extended. I have written to the Minister expressing that sentiment and I hope that the Leader will use his good offices to implore the Minister to extend the deadline.

The other issue relates to the beef exceptional aid measure, BEAM, which is the €100 million fund introduced by Government to compensate hard-hit suckler farmers in regard to beef prices. I was disappointed but not surprised to learn that only half the suckler farmers in the country have applied for this scheme. This illustrates that the scheme is not working and is not attractive to farmers in the first instance. The problem, in part, is that one of the criteria pertaining to this scheme is that farmers must commit to a reduction in their stocking numbers by a minimum of 5% for the following year. The lack of uptake in the scheme highlights that there is a problem with it. Again, I implore the Leader to use his good offices to bring back to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, the message that suckler farmers are hard-pressed with beef prices and ground conditions and they need a break. The Minister needs to review this scheme with a view to making it attractive for farmers to apply for the funding which they so badly need.