I wish to bring up two issues, one of which is the takeover of Lufthansa in Shannon by the Atlantic Aviation Group, AAG. While 300 of the staff will be subsumed into the new company, it is uncertain what will happen with the further 180 staff. I call for immediate Government intervention in regard to this. The unions are due to meet in the coming hours and I hope the Government will not be found wanting, which I am sure it will not.

The other issue is University Maternity Hospital Limerick, UMHL, which has gone green for mental health month. It is doing this every day. It is the only perinatal health clinic outside Dublin, which was established in 2018. It has a staff of nine. However, it has seen a huge increase of more than 50% in terms of women and their mental health, especially in light of Covid-19. I would like to see more supports being put in place to support the perinatal unit and to see more perinatal units established throughout the country to support women.

I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the National Ambulance Service. This issue has been raised by a number of Senators over the past while and by various radio stations throughout the country. It is quite obvious that the National Ambulance Service is not working efficiently. I was approached recently by a very worried citizen who was in a desperate state one night trying to get an ambulance for his wife. There was no ambulance available. The ambulance service is not working properly and that is why I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate.

We have the National Ambulance Service and a private ambulance service also. We have the 90 second window where, when you phone 999 and get through to the ambulance service, it despatches an ambulance within 90 seconds but that ambulance could be two or three hours away. At the same time, a private ambulance could be available in the nearest town, or in the same town. It would seem there is no joined-up thinking in regard to the National Ambulance Service and the private ambulance service. It is important that we have a good debate in this House on this issue and put the cards on the table in regard to the National Ambulance Service and the private ambulance service to see how they can work together for the betterment of communities and people.

I know we will have statements on the budget later but I have to express my delight at the announcement this afternoon of the change of the national childcare scheme, NCS, to include projects such as those in the Dublin 8 After School Alliance, including the Robert Emmet Community Development Project and the Solas Project. Those organisations have been advocating for that change because as an unintended consequence of the introduction of the NCS, children in disadvantaged areas in particular were unable to avail of after-school care. Now the criteria have been changed such that this anomaly is over. I also want to pay tribute to the Leader because when she was Minister for Social Protection, she brought in the school meals programme as a pilot for 36 schools and today we have seen it extended. It has been such a great success so I pay tribute to the Leader and to our Fine Gael colleague, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, for the increase in that provision. It was also strongly advocated for by our colleagues, Councillors David McManus and Clodagh Higgins.

I seek a debate on sexual health education in this House. Yesterday was International Day of the Girl Child and Plan International launched its report, KnoWhere To Go. That report detailed from where young people get their information on sexual health, as well as their understanding of consent. In that context, I know the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, has done a huge amount of work on consent education at third level but we need a discussion on primary and secondary schools, particularly in light of the fact that some of the school patrons are promoting their own version of sexual education. I would value a debate on that in this House and I am sure it has been called for before.