Ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an fáilte a fuair an beirt Seanadóir úrnua inniu agus cur leis fosta. I want to welcome and add to the words of welcome to our two new Seanadóirí. It is particularly good to hear another Northern accent in the Chamber from Senator Marshall, albeit a very different and diverse one from me I am sure. He is from Markethill and I am from Belfast.

The Senator will have to explain that some time.

It is very nuanced.

Like Kildare and Killarney.

It is very nuanced Leas-Chathaoirleach.

I understand that.

To more serious matters a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I have written to the Cathaoirleach seeking that he convey our dismay, disgust and offence at remarks published online last night by a Member of the British House of Lords, Lord Kilclooney, on An Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar. I do not do this either to be a cheerleader for the Taoiseach or to elevate Lord Kilclooney to any position within the public discourse. I do this from a sincere and genuine perspective that where racism raises its ugly head, regardless of where it comes from, who it emanates from or where it is directed towards particularly when it is those in political office, we should collectively and politically respond to that. I have asked that the Cathaoirleach write to his counterpart-----

The Senator is right.

He should write to his colleagues in the House of Lords, many of whom we have worked with very positively through the House of Lords Brexit committee and indeed our own Brexit committee in the Seanad, to convey our horror at what seems to be an ongoing litany of insults with a racist undertone, sometimes more overt than that, directed by Lord Kilclooney to the Taoiseach. I hope with the agreement of the House we can all share in the expression of that condemnation. The Cathaoirleach should convey the message that we are insulted, that we do not tolerate that kind of expression and that we will face it down. That message should be conveyed very strongly to the Speaker of the House of Lords and to all of his colleagues but in particular those who would express such ugly and horrible sentiments.

Might I begin where the last speaker left off and support Senator Ó Donnghaile in those remarks?

The behaviour of Lord Kilclooney, who is a very experienced politician of many years standing, was infantile, racist and wrong, and beyond what should be done by an experienced politician or indeed by any person of mature years or of any cop-on.

I join in the universal welcome for our two new Senators and congratulate them on their great achievement in polling extraordinarily well and being elected. I wish them both well. It is clear that they will be making an enormous contribution. I had a wonderful day yesterday when I attended the civic forum on Brexit in Dundalk. It was a very heartening occasion. It was wonderful that at the outset, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and all of our party leaders were there making excellent presentations. Many young people made presentations of high quality and there was genuine civic engagement. The most important thing about the day was that Michel Barnier was present. Yet again, on at least three occasions in response to three different questions and various curve-balls, he unequivocally stated European solidarity with Ireland. That should be acknowledged and applauded in this House. We should be very proud of our Government, diplomatic service and permanent Civil Service in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Since the beginning of the Brexit issue, they have achieved a European awareness of our situation. There is a European consciousness of it and support in virtually every European capital. I had the privilege of attending the Council of Europe last week with colleagues from this House, including Senator Hopkins, who is on my right. I met delegates from every country and raised the Brexit issue with them informally and, in one or two instances, formally. In all cases, they had an extraordinary awareness of our problem and support for it. The Irish Government, our permanent Civil Service and our diplomats abroad should take a bow. This matter is so important to me because the people in my community, along the Border in Cavan-Monaghan, stand to experience economic and social devastation and potentially a breakdown of all societal norms if we do not avoid a hard border. I offer the House's appreciation of Michel Barnier's stance and ask our Leader to endorse it and to give us an assurance that it will be continued.