Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our guests. I join members in congratulating Dr. May on her role and wish her the best. It is important in this discussion to acknowledge the good work that is being done and that many of the NGBs are trying their best. The IRFU was mentioned as an example, but I think about some of the smaller codes. Cricket Ireland has done enormous amounts about inclusivity. That all needs to be recognised.

We need that very clear message going out that racism, sexism and homophobia have no place in sport. I know from everybody here and with the NGBs that is a message that is going out there, but unfortunately it is not getting through fully. The difficulty is the impact that has. That impact is felt by individuals on their own well-being and mental health but it also discourages people from continuing to participate in sport. I am conscious there was an Australian study that showed - some colleagues picked up on this earlier - females who are involved in sport are three times more likely to receive online abuse in particular.

That contributes to discouraging young women from getting involved in sport. I am also conscious of professional players who have bravely spoken about the abuse they have experienced and the impact it has had. They are not willing to face work. If they had a bad game on the weekend it is difficult for them to face work on the Monday. That has serious consequences for the individual but also for young people considering taking on a sport professionally, or even just as a hobby.

I am struck by some of the work being done by Australia's eSafety Commissioner with a number of sporting organisations in that country. We have engaged with the commissioner here. They are looking at machine-learning devices to shield players from some of the abuse they receive. They are going to use AI to do that. Some technology solutions may need to be explored. I fully support the suggestions made by the Federation of Irish Sport, and I second Senator Cassell's proposal to adopt the recommendations. Has the Federation of Irish Sport engaged with the social media companies? If so, what has their response been? Is Ms O'Connor satisfied that the likes of Twitter and Facebook are taking this issue sufficiently seriously?