Before I call on the Taoiseach, I call on my county colleague, Senator Ned O'Sullivan.

I thank all the Senators for their contribution. The Leas-Chathaoirleach will have the last word on this but, before that, I call on the Taoiseach.

And schools.

Before Members leave, I ask the Leas-Chathaoirleach to say few words. We had 30 Senators speaking. That is half of the Seanad. As more than 100 topics were raised, there was no possibility that the Taoiseach could address all of the topics. However, I thank him for taking notes on the topics. I now call on the Leas-Chathaoirleach, who has two minutes.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, to the House. I put on record my deepest sympathies - I know all Members join with me - to the families, friends and colleagues of the members of the Irish Coast Guard who lost their lives in the accident involving R116, namely, Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, winchman Ciarán Smith, and winch operator Paul Ormsby. The R116 air tragedy was a result of a lot of systems failures, This very comprehensive report makes recommen…

The Minister of State can continue. It is important we hear it all because people will respond to her remarks.

I thank all Senators for their presence here today to discuss this report. I ask Members to be upstanding in memory of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, winchman Ciarán Smith and winch operator Paul Ormsby.

When is it proposed to sit again?

I have received notice from Senator Rebecca Moynihan that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, she proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education to make a statement on classroom capacity in Irish primary schools, which is above the EU standard. I have also received notice from Senator Malcolm Byrne of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education to provide an update on the acquisition of a permanent site for the new Educate Together secondary sch…

I welcome the Minister for Education to the House and thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule in the Department to take the first matter, which has been raised by Senator Moynihan.

I thank the Senator for his comments on the staff of the Houses and the late hour everybody worked until last night. I pay tribute to the Senator and also to Samantha Long for articulating her story and also the stories of so many thousands of people who were failed by the State, its institutions and the churches, in the broader sense.

Senators will understand that I allowed more time for that topic because of Senator Keogan's personal involvement in this area and her commitment to helping the most vulnerable children in our community by raising a topic that many people would not be aware of regarding the number of children dying in the care of State. I thank her for raising this issue. I call Senator McGreehan.

I welcome the Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice to the House and fáilte roimh an Cathaoirleach to the Seanad. This is one of the initiatives that this Seanad had undertaken for the renewal of the Seanad. A number of reports have suggested bringing in the Chairs of committees to the Seanad after they have published reports, examining the recommendations of those reports and seeing what action has been taken regarding those reports. All too often many Members here have served on committees where t…

I will call Deputy Lawless, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Justice. I thank him for coming to the House to discuss this report. As Senator Chambers said, this is a very important topic. There are many cases that can be discussed, but I must warn Members not to mention people by name because we do not want to bring the House into disrepute. There is the issue of parliamentary privilege but we must balance those powers. The subject of this report is a systems failure that has been going on for far too long where …

I thank the Chairman for outlining the 14 recommendations in the joint committee's report and its overall work on legislation.

I ask the Senators who are due to attend meetings to keep their contributions short. I call Senator Gavan.

That is fine.

Glaoim ar an Seanadóir Ó Donnghaile. We will try to finish by 3 o’clock. I know that this is the Senator’s contribution-----

I wish to allow the Minister back in. My apologies as he is not the Minister yet.

It is a work in progress.