I thank the 21 Members of the House for their contribution to the Order of Business today. I never thought the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill would, again, create such consternation and fuss today. Pantomime season is approaching.

Oh no, it isn't

Oh yes, it is here.

As always in politics, look behind you.

Absolutely. There are roles for the villain, the dame, the queen and the king - you name it.

What about this side of the House?

There are lots of jokers here too.

Senator Ardagh raised the issue of the tragic event in Lucan where the body of a man was discovered in the passenger seat of a car. I do not have the full information regarding the tragic events that took place in Lucan last night but An Garda Síochána is conducting a full investigation. I assure Senator Ardagh that the Government is committed to resourcing An Garda Síochána to tackle any form of criminality and crime. I remind her that this is why €1.76 billion was allocated to the Garda Vote, with an increase to €1.82 billion in 2020. This is why the Government increased capital investment in An Garda Síochána to the tune of €92 million and why we reopened the Garda college in Templemore and are hiring more gardaí. That is why, with Commissioner Drew Harris, we have produced the plan, A Policing Service for the Future.

Notwithstanding the challenges facing An Garda Síochána, the Government has introduced three pieces of legislation, including proceeds of crime and criminal justice legislation, and has supported the armed support unit and a special Garda crime task force. It is important we get the facts for Senator Ardagh. On the issue of the parents in Dublin 12, I will be happy for the Minister to come to the House on the matter.

Senators Craughwell, Feighan, McFadden, Hopkins and Wilson referred to the Defence Forces in a myriad of ways, in particular to the emergency aeromedical service, EAS, which was raised by Senator McFadden as a Commencement matter today. The Minister of State in his reply assured the House, and in particular Senator McFadden, that the EAS, operated by the Air Corps, will continue to operate out of Custume Barracks in Athlone. I remind Senator Craughwell that this service was not in place before Fine Gael came into government in 2011. Let me make it quite clear to Senator Craughwell that rather than playing politics with a particular situation, he would be well-served to listen to the wise counsel of Senator Wilson.

I advise the Leader not to go down that route, as it would be a dangerous one.

I will be very happy to have a debate with Senator Craughwell at any time and in any place. I will do so in this House any day he wants.

It is very dangerous.

Order, please.

The Leader is supposed to speak through the Chair and not directly to me.

I did.

Yes, indeed.

Rather than having a debate tonight, when it is clear there is a certain motivation behind the amendment to Order of Business and when it appears the Senator has not given any notice, I ask him to read the Minister of State's response to Senator McFadden's Commencement matter. She submitted this Commencement matter because she was so concerned about it.

I got this amendment in very quickly.

The safety, and I am quoting-----

I got my Commencement matter in before 10 a.m. yesterday.

Yes, that is correct. If Senator Craughwell knew the rules, he would know it was in by yesterday morning. I draw the attention of Members to the response of the Minister of State. He spoke about the safety of serving personnel, HSE staff and patients and said the shared number one priority and our whole focus is on returning the EAS to full capacity. The Minister of State said also that a number of measures were being pursued, including the reintroduction of the service commitment scheme for pilots, the recommissioning of former Air Corps pilots and the training of junior pilots during this period.

Senator Craughwell can huff and puff all he wants.

He brought back two pilots, one a lieutenant colonel who will not fly, and one captain who is not qualified.

Please speak through the Chair. Calm down, please.

A calm debate is required and I am prepared to offer Senator Craughwell a debate with the Minister of State at 3 p.m. on Thursday, when we have concluded our business on that day. The Minister of State will be available to come to the House to deal with this matter. If that is not suitable to the Senator, I am prepared to sit down with the Senator afterwards to work out a day that is suitable to him, if Thursday does not suit. We can have a debate on the Defence Forces issue, which Senator Wilson spoke about as well.

Senator Gavan raised the important issue of community employment scheme supervisors. It is a very contentious issue that has been ongoing for over a decade and is the subject of a Labour Court recommendation. It is important to point out again that the employees are those of private organisations or companies, albeit in the community and voluntary sector that receives State fund. Furthermore, the Minister for Finance has a number of occasions answered parliamentary questions in the Lower House on the matter and on the cost of between €188 million to €347 million. There no agreement on this payment. I will be happy for the Minister come to the House again to debate the matter. There might be a more expeditious approach for Senator Gavan. I appreciate where the Senator is coming from. Community employment schemes and supervisors play a huge role in our community and voluntary sector and all our communities benefit from their input, involvement and engagement. I will be happy to have a debate on the retirement age as well.

Senator Higgins referred to a number of issues. The motion regarding the horse and greyhound racing fund is always taken without debate, no matter what Government is in situ. It is debated at the committee. However, I take the Senator's point and we will have a debate on the wider issues.

We have had the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, in the House previously to debate the issue of homelessness and he will come again in the coming weeks.

Senator Higgins also spoke about the report on the conference held in Nairobi. I will be happy to have a debate on it.

I am not sure what Senator Norris' request is. The article in the newspaper regarding a minister in the Presbyterian Church is a source of disappointment. I have read the article and think I heard a gentleman address it on a radio station.