The concerns I had that the proposed three-year review of the 2018 abortion legislation would not be impartial have only grown since hearing what the Minister for Health had to say this morning. From the outset he continued to speak of his concern about widening access to abortion. When the official from the Department of Health spoke about the supposedly independent chair this morning, she stressed the need for a candidate with an approach of sexual and reproductive rights. This has been a consistent byword for pro-choice or pro-abortion, whichever one wishes to call it. The use by the official, Ms Luddy in this case, of that term raises concern in me and in many other people about whether there will be any independence at all.

The Government and perhaps this House might not mind being reminded that in 2018 we removed a constitutional right to life for the unborn child, but we did not create a constitutional right to abortion. The Constitution now states that "Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy". It follows from that that any independent review of the legislation should hear impartially about whether the law ought to be restricted or extended. Given the major increase in the number of abortions that have taken place since the legislation was introduced, there is a very strong case to be made for modifications of the law, for example, in the direction of precautionary pain relief for late-term abortion situations and indeed promoting alternatives to abortion.

There is no evidence that the Government has any respect for that point of view. From what was said at the committee this morning there is no evidence that it has any interest in having a genuinely independent chair. That is a disgrace and people need to raise their voices about it.

On another human rights matter, the United States and Australia are now calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. I know that our Minister will not be present, but our Government needs to be much stronger in coming out in favour of a full diplomatic boycott. That means no officials from our State turning up. It also means that the Olympic Federation of Ireland should not be represented. I do not want to deny the small number of athletes we have their chance to compete for Olympic glory, but in the circumstances they should not do so under an Irish flag. What is the Government's position? Normally, it is happy to follow the lead of a Democratic Administration in the United States. America is leading the way on this one; will Ireland follow? Along with other Senators I wrote to the chair of the Olympic Federation of Ireland last year expressing our concern. We did not even get a response from the then chair, Sarah Keane. Will the Government show any interest in pursuing the matter further?

The Service Central des Courses et Jeux, which is the branch of the police in France that deals with cheating and abuses in racing and competition, recently arrested several racehorse trainers and vets. Does anything like that ever happen in Ireland? The Cathaoirleach introduced a very interesting initiative to allow the Chairs of committees to appear before this House. I ask that the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine, Deputy Cahill, would appear before us to discuss that committee's recently completed report into horse racing in Ireland. It raises issues about the need for protocols to prevent doping in horse racing but also issues about the governance of the very body responsible for integrity in the sport, the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board.

I am conscious that I have gone over time and I thank you for allowing me, a Chathaoirligh.

I wish to clarify for the Senator that the concept is to invite a committee Chair to appear before the House about six months after such a report is published. We would review the recommendations and invite the Chair along with the Minister to see if the recommendations have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented. We will make that request before the summer to see if those recommendations have been implemented.

I remind Senator Mullen that we already had a referendum on abortion. The people of Ireland have spoken. This is not a rerunning of a referendum which would require having somebody independent sit in the middle of the whole conversation. We are reviewing laws that have already been enacted. That is the difference.

I wish to raise the issue of animal welfare and live exports which have been raised by members of the animal welfare policy group in my own party. Significant concerns were raised this week about the Finola M vessel which was travelling from Ireland to Libya with livestock on board when it got caught in the middle of Storm Barra. A vessel of this size should not be travelling with livestock onboard in wind speeds greater than 6 knots. The wind speed actually got to 30 knots with waves peaking at 24 ft with animals on board. This is of major concern. It has now docked. Having done more investigation since these reports were brought to me, I have ascertained that there was no vet on board. Vets are not on board these vessels at the moment due to the pandemic. We need to ensure that these animals have correct veterinary protection at the very least. It is outrageous to have animals on these vessels for ten days or two weeks. We need to re-examine the live exports of animals over long distances if we really value our animal husbandry.

I welcome the decision by the Minister for Education to provide €50 million for high-efficiency particulate absorbing, HEPA, filters. Last week when the Minister was in the House, I said that the report from March had indicated that many schools would benefit from HEPA filters. These filtration systems are well worth the money for the air quality they provide. Quite apart from us being in the middle of a pandemic, they help those with asthma. I welcome that the Minister has taken on board the concerns of teachers and parents about mask wearing. My concern was that a small child does not always make decisions. We need to ensure they are getting access to an education irrespective of whether their parents are for or against mask wearing. We need to convey the message that vaccination and mask wearing are all good things, but let us also ensure that every child gets an education.

I commend and thank the front-line workers in the emergency services and across statutory agencies who have been out during Storm Barra and no doubt will be out again, unfortunately, over the rest of the winter dealing with adverse weather events.

While acknowledging and thanking them for their work is important, we might give some thought across the Chamber to how we might do an item of work that would support those on the front line. The past few days have highlighted the issues Senator Craughwell, in particular, has brought to the attention of the Chamber in recent weeks and months concerning our emergency services.

A draft housing supply strategy was announced by the Minister with responsibility for housing in the North, Deirdre Hargey. Under that strategy it is planned to build more than 100,000 homes over the next 15 years, of which at least one third will be social homes. It is planned that high-quality social and affordable homes for families and workers will be built in record-breaking numbers. We, as Members of the Seanad, should call for Ministers, North and South, to engage through the North-South Ministerial Council to learn about best practice and how to effectively deal with the housing crisis.

The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, was in Derry last week for a series of engagements on North-South co-operation in the field of further and higher education and third level education. It is an important area of work that often gets overlooked in terms of its development. It was encouraging to hear that from the Minister and the Government. I would welcome the opportunity early in the new year to have statements on cross-Border co-operation on third level education with the Minister in attendance in order that he can update the House on that.

I am glad the Deputy Leader is occupying that chair this morning and I am sure she will agree to what I am requesting and will do her best to facilitate it. As we approach the conclusion of the work of the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU, I would like us to have an opportunity early in the new year, similar to that which we had with respect to the interim report, to engage and have statements on that committee’s work on the report and to have the Minister in attendance. While what will be will be in terms of the committee, we should ensure particular emphasis is given to the issue of Brexit in this Chamber and we keep a watching brief on that issue. The Minister has been very good in facilitating our requests for statements. In the context of everything else that is going on, we should ensure we do not take our eye off the ball on this issue. I know the chair of our committee, the Deputy Leader, will work hard to endeavour to ensure that happens.

Like Senator O’Reilly, I would like to remind Senator Mullen we had a referendum and its outcome very clearly showed the women and people of Ireland wanted people to have access to safe, legal, local abortion in Ireland. I was disappointed that in the discussion at the Joint Committee on Health today the Minister indicated the policy of the Act would not be reviewed, only the operation of the Act. The operation of abortion rights is always contested worldwide. I certainly do not think the women of Ireland will be happy that women are being left behind. We fought for the rights of women in the North and will continue to fight for them and for the women who are travelling and being left behind by the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. People will not be happy that the review will be simply limited to the operation of the Act.

I want to raise with the Deputy Leader the issue of a housing co-operative and housing supply in Dún Laoghaire. Last week, councillors in Dún Laoghaire got word that a contractor has pulled out of a contract to build 42 houses. Under the model of housing co-operatives, eight people were due to buy those houses as well as a housing association, Co-Operative Housing Ireland, which is taking over the other units. It is very disappointing at this late stage when the contractor was meant to be turning sod and to be on-site before Christmas that it has pulled out. This is a problem. It is important to have a debate on housing. Targets are set in Rebuilding Ireland. If we cannot get a contractor to build a simple development of 42 housing units in Dún Laoghaire that has been planned and worked on for three years, I do not know how the housing targets that have been set to address our housing crisis will be met.

I want to raise an local issue. Over the weekend the Dublin Flea Market announced it was closing and ceasing operations. I have known about this for a number of months, having worked with those involved in it alongside Councillor Claire Byrne to try to find a place for it operate, but it is still very disappointing. Not only did the flea market have a place for Dubliners to come and pull together, it provided an essential microenterprise space for people to chance their arm and set up a business. Many successful businesses have grown from the flea market. As somebody who comes from Newmarket in Dublin 8 and attended the flea market for many years from when it first started in the depths of the recession, it is very disappointing we could not find a solution and a space for it. The loss of market spaces to the city is great. I particularly want to mention Sharon Greene, who was the driving force behind it. I express my thanks to Sharon, Aisling, Luca and Dave for all they created in the ten years we have had the Dublin Flea Market.