Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

There are so many issues we could speak about today from flooding to neknominations to the amount of time the Seanad is sitting this week. However, I will refrain because other Senators have mentioned them.

I pay tribute to Kerry Group, which last night announced that it is handing over the site of the former Denny plant to the people of Tralee. It is a generous gift and gesture from Kerry Group. We all know that Kerry Group is a fantastic employer in Kerry and other places. I congratulate the company and I hope the people of Tralee will benefit greatly from whatever they decide to do on the site.

I wish to compliment and criticise RTE in the one go. I compliment the station on the programme regarding the death of several infants born at the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise. However, what annoys me about the matter is that it always takes until the media bring something up before we have our investigation. The matter was reported to the Minister of Health of the day and no investigation took place. I know the people concerned are at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children and that the Minister is there as well, but surely we should have an investigation the minute someone reports something like this, rather than letting it go on for years and then try to carry out an investigation afterwards.

I wish to criticise RTE over an advertisement I saw last night. I will be lodging a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland and I have contacted Age Action Ireland about it as well. I am unsure if other Members have seen the advertisement by Energia regarding getting rid of a grandfather because he costs too much. It is demeaning to grandparents and insulting, to say the least. Everyone knows that grandparents have a vital role to play in people's lives, especially in lives of their grandchildren. To depict grandparents as an expense or a nuisance is terrible. Could we have a debate on the standard of advertising in the country?