I thank the Minister. He has given us more of his time than he was scheduled to. I appreciate that. He gave a comprehensive reply. I met the Minister for the first time in connection with a health issue in Kerry. We were trying to recall the Seanad, which we managed to do. We also tried to recall the Dáil but did not succeed. The issue in question was organ donation. The Minister has been a champion of that for many years. There were reports in the newspapers and other media in recent days that an organ transplant …

The Minister has given us enough time. If he would like to come back another day, we can deal with the question at that time.

I thank the Minister for his time today and I thank all colleagues who contributed to the debate. When is it proposed to sit again?

I have received notice from Senator Malcolm Byrne that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on the implementation of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017. I have also received notice from Senator Maria Byrne on the following matter: The need for the Minister of State with responsibility for business, employment and retail to make a statement on supports f…

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, to the House and thank her for taking this important Commencement matter.

Before I invite the Minister of State to respond, will she clarify whether the Department is in compliance with the Act at the moment? If she cannot provide the answer now, perhaps she could on another day.

I thank the Minister of State.

Members will be aware that Professor George Eogan, who was a Member of this House from 1987 to 1989, passed away on Thursday, 18 November. Professor Eogan was widely regarded as one of the leading archaeologists of his generation. He is perhaps best known for his work in Knowth. He was born in Nobber, County Meath, and was always proud of his Meath origins, and a proud GAA fan. Meath was proud of him, and in 2016 the George Eogan Cultural and Heritage Centre was opened in the county, named in his honour. He had a l…

We will then stand for a minute's silence, if the motion is agreed.

I join with the Senator in congratulating the Republic of Barbados on its newfound path and the country's new President, Sandra Mason, on her new role. In her address, President Mason spoke about the country weathering all storms and reaching new horizons. As one of the older republics, we wish Barbados all the best as the newest republic on the planet.

I ask Members to be upstanding for one minute's silence in respect of the late former Senator George Eogan.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

If people are shopping local, they might also shop Irish, while they are at it. I call on Senator Craughwell.

Before I call on Senator McGreehan, I agree with some of Senator Ó Donnghaile's sentiments regarding this issue. I was in Italy when the foreign affairs committees came together to reduce Operation Mare Nostrum from an area of many hundreds of thousands of square miles to just a couple of thousand square miles, which would clearly have the effect of people dying quietly in the Mediterranean Sea. That was a policy decision. What is now happening with the Libyan regime is a policy decision of the EU. There is little …

That is a policy decision that was taken a number of years ago to reduce the search and rescue operation, knowing what the consequences would be for refugees. Bear in mind that most of those refugees are created by situations that were largely exacerbated by European countries many decades or centuries ago.

I thank the Senator for sharing that with us this morning.

I again support the calls to buy from businesses based in Ireland.

Before I call the acting Leader to outline the Order of Business, I want to point out that I agree with Members on the issue of pay for secretarial staff. The acting Leader will outline this in his response because he is also a member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. This item has been dealt with by the commission, month in and month out. The reason Members might not be aware of that is our role on the commission is to do the work quietly. I also raised the issue of the parliamentary staff pensions and t…

Technically, on the Order of Business when you are bringing up a point of order, it should be on the rules of the House rather than on a point of information.