On a point of order.

No, we are moving on.

I have asked to raise a point of order. I am entitled to be heard on a point of order.

No.

Am I not entitled to be heard on a point of order?

The Senator has already tried to do that.

If the Cathaoirleach is going to privilege people with an extra minute because they were interrupted, will he introduce a penalty for them when they introduce a bogus point of order? This is Senator Bacik's repeated technique. I applaud her talent but I have to point out she is in breach of Standing Orders when she does it.

I am not in breach of anything today. I sat and listened.

She is not in breach of Standing Orders. Senator Mullen, please.

Not today, I will agree, Senator Bacik-----

I sat and listened to you.

-----but you are a past master at using bogus points of order.

Senator Bacik-----

This morning, I sat through Commencement matters when the Senator consistently interrupted and barracked a Minister. This is his own pattern of behaviour in the House.

Senator Mullen, please-----

I may occasionally heckle-----

We are moving on.

-----but Senator Bacik introduces bogus points of order.

Senator Mullen is well aware of Standing Order 39, which states that if a Senator is interrupted, the Chair has the discretion to add extra time because of the interruption. That is within the Standing Orders.

I will hold the Cathaoirleach to that standard, so the next time I am interrupted, as occasionally happens, I will be watching to see whether he shows appropriate equal parity or parity of esteem-----

There will be no problem in relation to that, Senator. When Senators are interrupting a Senator or asking to intervene in a debate when a Senator is in possession, they must simply ask permission. That is the rule of the House. Senator Mullen did not do that this morning, and if in future he wants to intervene in a debate, it is up to the Senator in possession to allow him to do so. If that Senator does not allow him to do so, I ask him to stop interrupting. I will now move on to Senator Garvey, leading off for the Green Party group.

I remind Senator Mullen that he is a man and 40%-----

Sorry. May I just remind the House that the Order of Business-----

There will be further interruptions if the Senator continues with that line. I have to promise that.

This is not a debate through the floor or across the floor. The Order of Business is on issues before the House. Issues can be raised, but please do not refer to other Senators directly or engage with other Senators directly in a debate on the Order of Business.

Women's choice was sorted three years ago. Can we park it, please, and move on and accept the reality of where we are?

I want to speak on the fact it is national biodiversity week. Perhaps we have too much variety sometimes if we look at people in the House. Every individual in the country has a part to play in the importance of biodiversity. It is a term that has been thrown around quite a lot. Not everybody gets the concept because in some ways it is very simple. It has to do with variety being important and the interdependence of all living things. It can get very complicated if we look at soil science, the vastness of the ocean and everything that goes on. I want everybody to realise they can all play a part in a small way or a big way. Unfortunately, many small ways, such as leaving a little strip of dandelions free, will not cut the mustard any longer. We are going to have to think bigger about biodiversity. It is great that people like to do small things, but I genuinely worry that these small token measures will not be sufficient.

One third of our bees are under threat of extinction. Without bees we do not have fruit or vegetables growing in this country. As it is, we should be growing a lot more fruit and vegetables. We are struggling and I do not think people realise the seriousness of this. Most children in most schools all over Ireland understand biodiversity and the importance of bees and variety. I worry that we have now put it on the children and that the adults are not doing enough. I was in a school last week and every child put up their hand and said they were stressed and worried about climate change. This is wrong. It is not the child's responsibility, it is the adult's responsibility. We have to step up. We have to show future generations we take this seriously and we care. For the week that is in it, I ask everybody to look at biodiversity. Go onto pollinators.ie to find out more. There are brilliant resources for free. It is time for the adults to step up and take a role in the huge crisis we face.