He has got a great colour.

I welcome the Minister to the House.

Amendments Nos. 1 to 15, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed. Amendment No. 1 is in the name of Senator Boyhan.

On the amendments the Senator tabled that were ruled out of order, the relevant section can be discussed when we put the question. Those issues can then be raised under the section.

We are checking whether that letter-----

I am sure the letter was sent but we will find out.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad today on this important topic. As he outlined, the incidence of this in underage sport is unacceptable. I thank Senator Cassells for his great work on this topic, and for the report that he and the committee have put together. It is important that recommendations and the issues raised in it are addressed. I thank the Minister of State for his important contribution.

I thank colleagues for their contributions. One of the suggestions was with regard to sports capital funding. The issue of code of conduct was also mentioned. One of the lessons from other codes of conduct and initiatives is that if it is not being measured, it is not being done. We have an annual report in terms of how much abuse is reported by referees to make sure we are tracking what is actually happening on the pitch. Referee reports are lodged and, therefore, we need to make sure sporting bodies put a spotlig…

When is it proposed to sit again?

Before I ask the Leader to outline the Order of Business, I wish to welcome the students from St. Fintan's National School, Sutton. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann and I hope they enjoy their stay. I have no doubt they will behave themselves. I think there is a Standing Order - I will have to check with the Clerk - that any school that comes to Seanad Éireann has no homework for the rest of the week. It is up to the students to implement the policy Seanad Éireann has put forward. If they have any problems w…

I call Senator Malcolm Byrne.

I call Senator McDowell.

Before I call the next Senator, I welcome the sixth class students of Dulargy Mixed National School, Ravensdale, County Louth who are visiting Seanad Éireann today. Senator McGahon spoke to me earlier and proposed that there should be no homework for the rest of the week. I would like to support that proposal. I hope that the teachers, Alison Matthews and Eimear McGuinness, will abide by the Senator’s wishes. They are all most welcome today. We are trying to get support from every possible angle here today but one …

I thank the Commissioner for attending and addressing a wide range of topics. The early 1970s saw significant changes in Ireland - the change from feet to metres, decimalisation and joining the Common Market. Regarding decimalisation, my father was an assistant bank manager in Abbeyfeale and used to have to go out to places like Brosna and Knocknagoshel. When he was explaining decimalisation to the communities, they told him that it might take on in Dublin but it would never take on in Kerry. One of the issues that…

I think all colleagues would join with me in welcoming great friends of Richie Neal here tonight, including Dave, Christina, Pat and Stephen Keeney. The Keeneys are from Springfield but they have the distinction of having the first ever fundraiser for Richie Neal when he was running for city council. Everyone is your friend when you are at the very top but when you are starting out, it is very hard to find friends. The Keeneys were Richie Neal's supporters when he ran for city council, became the mayor of Springfie…

Before starting, I welcome visitors from St. Cronan’s National School in Swords. They are most welcome. I hope they enjoy Seanad Éireann and some of them come back at some stage in the future as Senators or TDs. I would advocate for the Senate. As an official resolution of the Seanad, I announce that they will have no homework for the rest of the week. Let us see how the parents deal with that one. It always proves to be a very popular policy. One of our few popular policies in the Seanad is a no-homework policy fo…

Recommendations Nos. 1 and 2 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Recommendation No. 3 in the names of Senators Higgins and Ruane has been ruled out of order as it is not relevant to the subject matter of the Bill.

Recommendations Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Is the recommendation being pressed?