I raise a matter of serious importance. In June 2018, the Dáil passed a motion calling for a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Shane O'Farrell in Monaghan in August 2011. This House did the same in February 2019. Many of us in these Houses have met the devastated family of Shane O'Farrell and have learned about the shocking set of circumstances and failure of the criminal justice systems, North and South, that led to the failures which culminated in Shane's death.

I met Shane's mother and father not long after his death. I was a Deputy and justice spokesperson for my party at the time. I will never forget the devastation inflicted on that family, particularly his mother, Lucia. This is the quintessential Irish family - decent and hard-working, with parents who urged their children to get the best education they can. Shane was a joy, by all accounts, a fine young man who had just qualified in medicine and was about to travel around the world. He was a dream son who was taken away from his parents. Deaths happen but it is unacceptable when they occur surrounded by absolute failure from those in the justice system.

These Houses voted on this matter and what has happened recently is that rather than grant a public inquiry, the Minister for Justice and Equality asked former Judge Gerard Haughton to put together terms of reference, a scoping exercise. His Department has rejected those terms of reference and narrowed them further. This is absolutely outrageous. This was not only a failure of An Garda Síochána, it was a failure of the court system and a failure of communication, North and South, because the individual responsible for Shane's death had been involved in criminality, North and South, and has been convicted as such.

I appeal for the Minister to be brought before this House, which voted by a majority for a public inquiry, to account for this disgrace and assure us that Judge Haughton will not be held back from his desire to have a proper, fully comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances of Shane's death in order that lessons can be learned and some degree of solace given to the O'Farrell family. I appeal to the Leader to ensure the Minister is brought before this House at the earliest opportunity to account to all of us as to why he has not respected our wishes.

I was a part of the all-party working group on dementia that worked across both Houses to improve the resources given to families suffering because a loved one suffers with dementia. We heard this morning about the potential closure of St. Joseph's, Shankill. It has 60 live-in, dedicated units for dementia. It is the largest in the country. There are 120 places per week for day care services which make a real impact for 120 families, week in and week out. We now discover St. Joseph's has had no increase in funding since 2012 and faces closure. This is totally unacceptable. All political parties have been fighting for resources for families with a loved one suffering from dementia only to hear this news about St. Joseph's this morning.

This is not an isolated case. Last week, we heard about the impending closure of an important resource in Roscommon that provided respite for the Irish Wheelchair Association, people with Parkinson's disease and other sufferers. It is a dedicated, purpose-built respite home in the midlands to ensure families can get respite. I talked to one family member who said it is absolutely fabulous to bring her loved one for a break to the centre, stay with him, and have all the resources available for the need of his disability and as a wheelchair user. That centre now faces closure. Something is going seriously wrong.

I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business whereby either the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, or the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Deputy Finian McGrath, attends the House today to explain to us exactly what is happening and give some reassurance to the 180 families in the Dún Laoghaire, Shankill and south County Dublin area that this important support will not be taken away from them at the end of the year. They cannot wait for clarity on this issue, it needs to come now. They suffer, day in and day out, trying to take care of their loved ones. They have now received notification that this resource is going to be withdrawn without any explanation of what support will be put there in replacement. I am formally proposing an amendment to the Order of Business whereby either the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, or the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Deputy Finian McGrath, attends the House today to give some reassurance that these important resources will be maintained in the future.

A number of weeks ago, we had the welcome announcement of the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme 2019-2021. It provides important funding for rural dwellers in order that they can have proper and adequate water supplies to their houses. Funding was allocated to Mayo and other rural counties that will lead to great benefits for many people in areas that would otherwise be at a loss.

However, I have to take issue with the expert panel that was put together to assess various applications submitted by the local authorities, Mayo County Council in this case. It has failed the people of Downpatrick, which is a rural area outside Ballycastle in north Mayo. This scheme was recognised and designated as a number one priority for Mayo County Council. The reason for this is if the Government does not intervene and help these people get a water supply, there will be no water supply. The problem stems from the fact that there are naturally occurring adverse ground conditions whereby the ground contains iron, manganese and arsenic. The water cannot really be treated. A grant to bore a well is available and many of these people have availed of that. When the machinery or the equipment breaks down, they cannot wash clothes or have showers. They have to go to a village pump in the middle of Ballycastle to get some sort of proper drinking water. They have been at this for years. Since about 2008, they had been set and expectant that they would get a new water scheme and as we all remember, we had the economic crash and the CLÁR scheme for rural areas was discontinued. This is a number one priority and clearly these people cannot do anything unless the Government helps them. They have waited over the years, the rules have been modified and every time we hoped the net would be cast wide enough and they would be facilitated to get what is a basic right we all talk about, namely water. These people have not had it for years and there has not been too much outcry over that, other than on my own part. The issue is it is costing €13,500 per house and the average cost allowed is €9,000 per house.

My issue with this expert panel from the Environmental Protection Authority, EPA, Irish Water and the Department is there is provision within their own criteria for exceptional funding to be provided in exceptional cases. This is an exceptional case and it ticks the boxes of their criteria, yet nowhere in the country has been given exceptional funding. There is a clear case for exceptional funding for these 17 households. I ask that this be revisited. I have spoken with the Minister and I wish to highlight this here today. These people in rural Ireland deserve fair play and a basic service. They are old and young people and they need to live in the space they are in but they cannot do so the way the water supply is.

I express my condolences to the family of Gay Byrne, his wife Kathleen, his daughters Suzy and Crona and his many and wide circle of colleagues and friends. Many of us grew up in a time whereby it is not possible to explain to people of this generation or those of the younger generation how influential Gay Byrne was with both his radio programme every morning and "The Late Late Show" when there were much fewer channels and people had a lot less choice in recording. So many people regarded it as must-see viewing live at the time and then spent the next few days discussing what happened on it. He is a huge loss to Irish life generally, and particularly to Irish broadcasting. I wanted to put that on the record.

Many of the points I might have raised such as health, the Shane O'Farrell case, social media and Kevin Lunney have all been mentioned so I will not mention them again. I support Senator Ó Donnghaile on Shannon Airport. On water, Senator Mulherin made a good case for 17 houses in Mayo but we have 600,000 people in north Dublin, Meath, Kildare, south Dublin and in parts of Dublin city who are again subject to a boil water notice. We have restaurants, pubs and schools affected by it. One in eight of the population of this country is affected by this boil water notice. It is not acceptable that within two weeks of the first scare we have this again. We need the Minister and Irish Water to tell us what is wrong. It is not acceptable that 12.5% of the population of this country are subject to a boil water notice and subject to going out and buying expensive water to do things as simple as brushing their teeth and washing their vegetables.