The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations, referral to committee, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, European Investment Fund Agreement Bill 2018 - all Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to adjourn no later than 2 p.m. if not previously concluded, with contributions from group spokespersons on Second Stage not to exceed six minutes, or four minutes in the case of all other Senators, the Minister to have not less than four minutes to reply, and Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken immediately thereafter; No. 3, Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017 - Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken at 2 p.m. and to adjourn at 6 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 4, Private Members' business, Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Naturalisation of Minors Born in Ireland) Bill 2018, Second Stage, to be taken at 6 p.m., with the time allocated to the debate not to exceed two hours.

I raise the very serious issue of sports capital grants, as discussed in the media this morning. There are shocking reports that senior Ministers and figures in the Fine Gael Government lobbied extensively for the allocation of sports capital funds to private golf clubs in their constituencies. The sports capital programme is primarily designed to fund local sports groups and clubs with a particular emphasis on areas of deprivation. The message from the Government on the sports capital programme states that it is the primary means of providing funding to sports and community organisations and that grants are designed to prioritise the needs of disadvantaged areas and groups in the provision of sports facilities. However, it emerged a number of months ago that large amounts of last year's funding went to private golf clubs and fee-paying schools in various constituencies. It is very serious that senior figures in Fine Gael, including the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Heather Humphreys, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, the Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Deputy Kehoe, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, Deputy Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy and, in particular, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, lobbied the Department on behalf of private golf clubs in their areas.

Hear, hear. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, was not too backwards.

Large amounts of funding which should have been given to more deprived areas and the clubs serving a broad cross-section of the community which should have had priority were allocated elsewhere. I ask the Leader to address this issue. It shows the ideological leanings of Fine Gael when private clubs are prioritised ahead of deprived areas and clubs providing sporting-----

It shows the background of the Minister, Deputy Ross.

Who closed down the sports capital fund?

May I continue?

Please allow the Senator to speak.

These clubs are providing sporting facilities to a broad cross-section of our communities, particularly in deprived areas which sorely lack them.

Hear, hear.

There is very little green space in Dublin's inner city and long-established clubs have no playing pitches.

There is no golf club in Dublin 1.

While schools suffer a severe lack of sporting facilities, hundreds of thousands of euro from the fund have been allocated to private clubs. I would really like the Leader to address that.

It is private schools and the rich boys' clubs.

I ask the House to allow Senator Craughwell to proceed.

Frequently, we get the Leader's infinite wisdom on topics. This morning, I would like him to discuss something and perhaps organise a debate on it. We are about to head into a winter of discontent in the public service. That is clear from what we have seen with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, teachers, the Army and gardaí. In fact, all of the public service is in crisis. Nevertheless, the people who caused the problem, namely, the bankers, will operate tax free for the next 20 years. How is it that we could introduce financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation to put our hands in the pockets of public sector workers and the pockets and wallets of pensioners but cannot introduce legislation to change the tax laws which allow the banks that broke the country to continue to trade back into healthy profits and in turn to go back to trading on the Stock Exchange? I would like a debate on that.

I have just returned from Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union, COSAC, at which the forthcoming European elections were discussed. An issue raised during that discussion was the use or misuse of social media. I made the point, which is one we should debate in the House, that the misuse of social media is only allowed because we have failed to regulate it. The Leader has an interest in this area. Perhaps he will consider organising a debate on how we might regulate the use of social media. In particular, we should discuss how to do away with the right of people to anonymity. While they can certainly use nicknames if they want, there must be a way to track them down and take action against them when they libel others. This is a matter worthy of debate and I am sure many Senators have something to say. I ask the Leader to organise such a debate at his earliest convenience.