Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The guests are very welcome. I hope they enjoy their trip.

Senator Wall also raised the issue of spoilt votes and, more concerning, the incorrectly stamped ballot papers, which resulted in approximately 1,000 votes around the country being deemed invalid - again, shocking.

Senator Wall also raised the issue of a sewage spill in Athy and Uisce Éireann's inability to respond to Kildare County Council and the people living in Athy over that issue. That is unacceptable. If Uisce Éireann cannot respond to local authorities on something as serious as that, we do not have a public utility worth anything. I hope Uisce Éireann will respond and give those people the answer they need.

Medical cards for cancer patients is an issue I have raised previously. Senator Wall makes a very good point about it being a stressful point in people's lives when they are given a cancer diagnosis. The last thing they need to be worried about is bureaucracy, filling out forms and engaging in appeals. It is really not acceptable. I hope we will be able to raise that issue in the course of the debate tomorrow evening.

I am glad Senator Gavan enjoyed the European campaign and is looking on it positively. I think all of us who have engaged in electoral politics at some stage or another have come up against failure and adversity. I have no doubt that he has learnt a lot from the campaign and will put it to good use in the next one.

The documentary on the abuse of horses is something I have not been able to watch yet because it is so appalling and shocking, but I have read a lot about it. We should have a debate in this Chamber about animal cruelty in general. Senator Hoey, among others, has been relentless in raising the issue of animal cruelty and safety for animals. We need answers because it is completely appalling and shocking.

Senator Sherlock raised the issue of the system of referrals. She would like to get answers from the Minister for Justice and the Minister for integration. I suggest that would be a good Commencement matter. She might be able to get some direct answers from the Ministers in that regard and the clarification she seeks.

Senator Lombard raised the issue of the status of the GAA within RTÉ. I have been struck by our debates about RTÉ over the past 12 months that they have emphasised the importance of RTÉ and maintaining the cultural identity of our country, being a small one. If we did not have our own State broadcaster, we could perhaps be overcome by cultural influences from outside the country. That is a valid point, but when we see our national sports sidelined and put off into the graveyard shifts, we have to question its validity. It is worth a debate. I certainly would like to see a debate on that issue.

The next Senator to speak was Senator Cassells. He raised the issue of the future of news in Ireland, which is connected with the RTÉ debate. People have to realise that if we want good-quality, credible news sources, we have to pay for them. If we rely on news outlets and their advertising revenue, they will just produce clickbait articles and shocking headlines.They will not invest in proper, serious, well-thought-out investigative journalism, and we will all be the poorer for that. It is a very good point that Senator Cassells raised, and Senator Malcolm Byrne touched on that later. We should have a debate or a series of debates in this House on that matter. Perhaps it is too big to cover in a two-hour debate. Maybe it is something we should be talking about more long term and on which we should put together a plan because our democracy depends on it.

Senator Dolan raised the wonderful achievement of the Tidy Towns team in Roscommon town. Roscommon is the best kept largest town in Ireland. That is fantastic. I have had the great pleasure of being in Roscommon town many times. As the Senator said, to see the investment of the various urban and rural town regeneration funds from the Government having such an impact is fantastic. There has been a lot of that in my constituency in Balbriggan and in Lusk. It is fantastic to see it taking shape. I commend the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, on prioritising rural towns. I hope to get down to Roscommon during the summer.

The final Seanadóir to contribute was Senator Malcolm Byrne. As I said, he spoke about the future of media in Ireland and raised the issue of the absolutely appalling and disgusting racist abuse our wonderful athlete Rhasidat Adeleke has received. I am beyond appalled by what I have seen. These disgusting keyboard warriors denigrate a woman who has brought such pride and honour to this country, her sport and her family. She is back training with her head down for the Olympics and she is putting up with this from people who have no contribution to make and have never made a contribution. The European and local elections showed that this is not the majority opinion. You might look at it online and think this is how people think but the majority of people are not racist bullies. They are not abusing people. They vote for centrist parties. They do not vote for right-wing, racist parties in their droves. That is not where Ireland is at. I am happy to see that the answer was given in the ballot box. Anybody who supports this or continues even to entertain people with these types of views should really take a long, hard look at themselves. It is absolutely appalling. I ask that we send a letter to Rhasidat Adeleke and her comrades and team-mates to congratulate them on behalf of Seanad Éireann and to say that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them and we in this House will not tolerate a slip and slide into racism and xenophobia in this country. That is the Order of Business.