If Deputy Howlin wishes to defer to Deputy Shortall, I will certainly let her speak.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 37 and the name of the Member in each case: (1) Deputy Neale Richmond - to discuss access to pre-birth appointments for birthing partners; (2) Deputy Martin Kenny - to discuss the crisis in the funding of local authority veterinary services; (3) Deputy Steven Matthews - to discuss the timeline for a new school building for Greystones Community College, Greystones, County Wicklow; (4) Deputy Sean Sherlo…

I realise that this issue is very important to the Deputy but it was debated yesterday.

The issues relating to the Covid crisis are complicated enough without having to deal with the issues the Deputy raised.

I ask Deputy Boyd Barrett not to use his phone in the Chamber. Let us have a little respect.

I used my discretion to let in the Labour Party because Deputy Ó Ríordáin missed his slot. On reflection, I should have put it to the House to agree it because other Deputies were waiting and had made decisions based on the debate moving quicker. I apologise for this. I have upset a Deputy but it was inadvertent. The next time a Deputy misses a slot and wants to be fitted in, I will put it to the House for its agreement, or else the Deputy can go to the end of the list. I will move on to Solidarity–People Before Pr…

Question No. 4 is in my name. With the permission of the House, I will move that question further down the list and ask it when I leave the Chair. We will move to Question No. 9 as the Deputies who submitted Questions Nos. 5 to 8, inclusive, are not present. Their questions may be taken later.

My question is brief. It is about the welcome funding that the Minister's Department has provided to voluntary and community groups, which has been refused to a specific group. It seems to me that it was done on the basis of morality. I hope not. I am trying to determine what the policies and criteria were, and if they are publicly available.

I take hope from the Minister's reply and also despair a little. I welcome that there is a report regarding the 2017 Act. Will the Minister give a date for when it will be completed? I am a little confused. I welcome all the funding she has outlined, which is very positive. This particular organisation has written to the Department and the Department has written back, asking it for a declaration of what it supports and values. What are the values and criteria? Where are they available? This is not about trafficking…

I thank the Minister. I welcome that she is prepared to meet with them. That is positive. This is a group of women represented by the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland who have come forward to point out the vulnerability of women who find themselves in this position during the Covid pandemic. They are asking for assistance in helping vulnerable women. It has nothing to do with child trafficking or the elements that the Minister mentioned and it has nothing to do with my morality. We have not criminalised the women; we h…

The time for questions has expired but I will allow Deputy Martin Browne to complete this round.

I will return to the Minister of State. I understand that Deputies wish to speak but they are not in the Chamber. If anyone is outside the door, they should please come in. It is the final opportunity to speak before I move to the Minster of State and close this debate.

One moment. Different speakers missed their slots. We still have a little time so with Members' permission, I will ask Deputy McNamara to come in, but there will be no reply from the Minister of State. Is that agreed?

If the Deputy will let me, I will put the question to the House because we are out of sync and I must get permission. Is that agreed? Agreed.

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time this evening.

To prevent any confusion, the debate on the motion will adjourn at noon for Leaders' Questions and will resume in the afternoon. I call the Minister to move the motion. He has 20 minutes.

Regardless of our opinions on it, this reflects the Order of Business as decided by the Business Committee. I hear and appreciate what the Deputies are saying but I must invite the Minister to introduce the motion.

There are no copies of the Minister's speech. It would be helpful if there were. I believe that a very limited number were prepared. Will the Minister confirm that we will be getting copies? Some Members received copies.

That is not a point of order.

I thank the Deputy.