I too was not available yesterday but I would like to be associated with the condolences to Senator Craughwell on the passing of his wife Helen. May she rest in peace.

There are a number of issues I would like to raise. I could talk about the ongoing difficulties with school transport, the serious concerns across rural Ireland about synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoid vapes and the pressures on our National Educational Psychological Service, especially the lack of an educational psychologist available to schools in County Roscommon.

The main matter I wish to raise is women's health and I ask the Leader to facilitate a debate in the House on the subject. Senators Maria Byrne, Costello, Cosgrove, Nelson Murray and Harmon, to name a few, have raised multiple women's health issues but it is also important that men speak about them as well. Women's health affects our wives, daughters, mothers and sisters and it should be a conversation we all participate in, not just the ladies in this House. One particular issue I would like to examine is breast density and BreastCheck. Dense breast tissue can make cancers more difficult to detect on a mammogram and is associated with increased breast cancer risk, yet BreastCheck does not currently measure or report breast density to women.

I also mention something I raised last year following the Young Scientist awards - two remarkable young ladies from Coláiste Mhuire in Ballygar, Zofia and Emma, whose project was entitled "Raising Awareness of Girls’ Menstrual Disorders and Health". Their research looked at conditions like endometriosis which the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has spent significant time on in recent months. They also looked at PCOS and ovarian cysts. More importantly, they asked young women what they knew and 82% of those surveyed felt menstrual health was not spoken about enough, while 79% wanted to know more about women's reproductive health. That should tell us all something. I am asking for a dedicated debate on women's health. I support Senator Stephenson's call for a debate. Both topics raised this morning could run in conjunction but the debate I am calling for would cover screening, early detection, menstrual and reproductive health, endometriosis and other conditions but also, crucially, education and awareness among both women and men. Women's health should not be regarded as a women-only conversation. It is a health issue and something we can all participate in.