I have asked to raise a point of order. I am entitled to be heard on a point of order.

Am I not entitled to be heard on a point of order?

If the Cathaoirleach is going to privilege people with an extra minute because they were interrupted, will he introduce a penalty for them when they introduce a bogus point of order? This is Senator Bacik's repeated technique. I applaud her talent but I have to point out she is in breach of Standing Orders when she does it.

Not today, I will agree, Senator Bacik-----

-----but you are a past master at using bogus points of order.

I may occasionally heckle-----

-----but Senator Bacik introduces bogus points of order.

I will hold the Cathaoirleach to that standard, so the next time I am interrupted, as occasionally happens, I will be watching to see whether he shows appropriate equal parity or parity of esteem-----

There will be further interruptions if the Senator continues with that line. I have to promise that.

Well said.

Amen to that. It may have just been an omission but I had raised an issue about patient private property accounts. I suspect that the Leader had intended to respond to that.

In the tent.

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Chathaoirligh Ghníomhaigh. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and wish him well with this Bill and in the important work that he has before him. The Minister stated at the close of his speech that he would use every weapon in his arsenal. I might paraphrase and adjust that slightly by saying that the Government needs to get up off its arsenal and use every weapon that it finds there. It is not only a matter of social justice. It is not only a mat…

The Leader may recall that before Christmas I asked her - and she agreed - to organise a debate with the Minister for Health present about the working of the new abortion law in the light of the troubling research done by some UCC researchers on the provision of abortion in Ireland. That was published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology . As Members will be aware, the three-year review of Ireland's abortion law is scheduled to take place this year as required by the legislation. When that legislati…

The Senator voted against them.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome and support the motion. I am sure that other Senators saw the RTÉ programme last night called "DIY SOS", which was about a beautiful family with two sons who have Pfeiffer Syndrome. This is an extremely rare genetic disorder. I was struck by a comment the couple made about their own relationship. They said that due to the stress of caring for their sons on a 24-7 basis, and the need to keep their eyes and ears on their sons all of the time, they do not really have a rela…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The majority of people in the Republic would like to see a united Ireland in their lifetime. Perhaps they feel less urgently about it compared to previous generations - I do not know, but that is my instinct - but they also have concerns about the wisdom of the recent headlong rush into calling for a border poll. That rush was sparked by the result of the Brexit referendum nearly five years ago. The immediate response by Sinn Féin, among others, was to call for a border poll. That…

I will if it is brief.

I am suspicious of claims of privilege these days because there tends to be an underlying ideology that is exclusive of the search for truth on a range of issues.

I took the Senator's point. When I heard the rhetoric of Ms Martina Anderson's statement last week talking about the struggle, her forced retirement and how throughout her life as a republican she had always put the struggle first, it made me realise how far we had to go because I wondered what struggle she was talking about. Do people here believe that kind of language will assist in convincing any unionist to vote for unity? There needs to be reflection on how the new secular Ireland looks at the realities of a c…