I join with the Cathaoirleach in welcoming Senator Boyhan’s visitors to the Gallery from Claremont.

I congratulate State Representative Carey and his good wife Melissa on their magnificent wedding and I congratulate him on his re-election as a state representative of Massachusetts.

I stand today to ask us all to reflect upon the events of the past four days. Five people were killed in a nightclub in Colorado last Saturday night on a night out in a space where, for many of us as gay people, it is our place of sanctuary where we can be free to be who we are with our loved one and our friends. Five people were senselessly gunned down in a nightclub. We remember them today, their families and those who survived that awful attack last Saturday night.

In parallel with that, we have the FIFA World Cup under way as we speak. Just imagine eight captains were told by the governing body of soccer that they cannot wear a One Love armband.

Disgraceful.

An armband that symbolises not a political statement or political comment, but acceptance, inclusivity and diversity. FIFA, the governing body of one of the biggest sporting organisations in the world, lacks leadership and courage. It is disgusting, appalling and unacceptable. I do not get pretty emotional about things in this Chamber but what are we saying when an American journalist is for 25 minutes stopped from going into the stadium because he wore a rainbow or LGBT t-shirt? The former captain of the Welsh soccer team had her LGBT hat taken off her. Gay people are told come to Qatar but they cannot be who they are. They report back that they are feeling unwelcome and afraid, and then add to it all the governing body of FIFA said nothing about leadership. Nothing.

What are the events of the past four days saying to the young boy and girl, whether in Cork, Kerry, Dubai, Doha, Indonesia or Colorado when they are grappling with their sexuality and their sexual identity? What are they saying? What are we as a society in the world saying? Our language and our behaviour matters. I ask that the Minister for Foreign Affairs come to the House for a debate on human rights and the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, as I requested last week, come to the House for a debate on the awarding of sporting events to countries such as Qatar.

I ask us today to remember the five people, young men and women, and give thanks - as the Cathaoirleach said, in this week of Thanksgiving in the United States of America - to the bravery of the people who apprehended that gunman in that nightclub, which is a place of sanctuary and safety for us in the LGBT community.

Well said.

I thank the Senator for raising that important topic on what happened in Colorado and the two security guards who risked their own lives to protect the lives of others.

Many more would have been killed were it not for their bravery. There is, as the Senator pointed out, cause and effect, with large organisations like FIFA awarding the World Cup to a country where there is discrimination against members of the LGBT community. FIFA is sending out a message by doing that. The actions and the silence in the context of the symbols of that community being forcibly removed from people who are wearing them sends its own message. FIFA has acted shamefully and has brought great shame on the sport of soccer. Many others who are involved in sport have stayed silent as well, which reflects badly on them. A debate on the matter would be appropriate, because there is a cause and an effect.

I agree with every word that Senator Buttimer said. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, namely, that No. 128(5) be taken before No. 1. No. 128(5) states:

That Seanad Éireann calls on the Minister for Health to name the new National Children’s Hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn, noting her contribution as Chief Medical Officer in the Irish Citizen Army, and her role in establishing St. Ultan’s Hospital, one of the most important centres for paediatric healthcare in the early years of the Irish State.

I would like to touch on the issue of Claremont. I thank the Leader for organising the sign language interpreter. It was an emotional day for me because all of the people in this audience are in their 50s and 60s. All of them were in my primary school. The difference was that we were in one building and they were in a prefabricated building with the rain pouring in. This was because there was no integration for deaf children in the 1960s and 1970s. What was unusual about this particular group was that they were all raised in the faith of the Anglican Church of Ireland. The families had to mobilise themselves, hire out an old prefabricated building in a school in Monkstown village in Dún Laoghaire and have their children educated. They were not encouraged to learn in sign language at that time. It was not policy to do so. There was a pilot scheme for a school in Cabra. It allowed them to have their own identity. We talk about identity a lot in this House. They were Church of Ireland and their family wanted them to have a non-denominational education or a choice within education. I invited them here today. I had not seen any of them for over 50 years but I remember them all. When we met there were many tears and much laughter and a great sense of sound and excitement came from them, as one who deals with deafness knows. Many of them are profoundly deaf. Through our interpreter we had a conversation and I want to share three things. The strongest thing was that many people found it difficult to get a job or secondary education. They also found it difficult to sustain a relationship.

More importantly, we talked about the following matter and someone asked me to bring it wherever it needed to be brought. People with disabilities do not cease to have sexual needs. This is a matter we do not discuss - it is another taboo subject - but we all need to feel loved, wanted and accepted. We all want confirmation, affirmation and an abundance of love. That is a human need for everyone and that is my message. Through the disability sector we must continue to be strong advocates for people in residential care.

At a time when we are talking about physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse in institutions, we should think about what it must have been like to have been deaf or to be a blind child in the blind asylum in Merrion. There were all the other institutions that were meant to care for people. Think about all the people who had psychiatric illnesses. They were vulnerable. Many of them do not have the power or ability to advocate or talk.

Many of them have that all locked and trapped within themselves. When we talk about all these things, it is important to remember to somehow take a look back to advocate and facilitate organisations that represent an elder group of people who were perhaps aged over 60 who were in these institutions. They, too, were hurt and feel forgotten. More importantly, however, many of them do not have the skills or ability to communicate and be a voice for themselves.

Before I call Senator Gavan, I welcome to the Visitors Gallery Senator Vincent P. Martin but, more importantly, his nephew, Turlough Duffy, and friend, Ciara Morton. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann today. No doubt Turlough might follow in the footsteps of his uncle or Deputies Catherine Martin or Francis Noel Duffy. Perhaps we will see him at some stage, if not in this House, then maybe in Dáil Éireann. He is most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I hope his uncle looks after him on his visit today. I thank him for coming. I call Senator Gavan.

I will begin by echoing that call by Senator Buttimer for an urgent debate on human rights. It would be very important to have it during the World Cup, if possible.

I also wish to raise issue of football. It is fair to say that the FAI has had a turbulent recent history. A criminal inquiry into FAI matters brought by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement is ongoing. One would have thought that having gone through all of these horrendous recent scandals, the FAI would now understand the absolute importance of transparency, good governance and the value of an audit. I regret to have to inform the House that this is not the case.

An ongoing row involving the Limerick district soccer league has caused huge frustration among the vast majority of honourable people who make up the bulk of soccer players, coaches, parents and supporters. Key concerns are the failure to conduct an audit of accounts for 2020 alongside a failure to adopt a series of governance reforms such as introducing term limits and, Lord protect us, actually appointing at least one woman to one of the 12 board positions. At the heart of this story is an all-male board of management of the Limerick district league. A number of the officers have held key positions for so long that they would make the leadership of the Workers' Party of North Korea blush. Some of these men can boast of being in situ for between 30 and 35 years. The concerned club members want a time limit placed on the term in office of committee members, limiting it to a few years rather than having a situation where people could potentially hold office for life.

The new broom that was promised by the FAI certainly has not reached Limerick. Unfortunately, I am also informed that those clubs or individuals who have spoken up in favour of reform and good governance have found themselves and their clubs disadvantaged as a result. A number of these people told me they are operating under an atmosphere of fear and loathing because of the actions of the board. This is what happens when board management degenerates into a personal fiefdom.

The need for an audit of accounts for 2020 is an issue that was described by the FAI itself as being of significant concern. Some of these concerns related to so-called honorarium payments made by officers to themselves, and others to issues of governance and transparency. Yet, over a year later, there has still been no audit carried out. The FAI issued 11 recommendations in all, including the need for term limits for committee members, the need to appoint at least one female committee member out of 12 and an updated rule book. To date, I am informed that the FAI has failed to ensure that any of these recommendations have actually been implemented. After all the FAI has been through in recent years, it beggars belief that having identified a series of recommendations to improve governance, it failed to ensure implementation of any of them. The senior management of the FAI has been made aware of all the issues but has to date failed to take any action. The FAI needs to act now. Otherwise, it should be called to account for its inaction on these matters before an Oireachtas committee.

I will finish with quote from a press release that came from concerned supporters groups today. They said, “All we want is to see soccer in Limerick grow and for people and kids to get involved and to play, but without a change in governance we can’t go forward.” I ask the Leader to organise a debate with the Minister with responsibility for sport on the topic of FAI governance and accountability. As far as the Limerick district league is concerned, there is in my opinion a significant deficit of both.

In respect of the disturbing events that have been highlighted and that are unfolding off the football field in Qatar, I rise to my feet on behalf of the Green Party, Comhaontas Glas, to associate myself as closely as I possibly can with the eloquent words of Senator Buttimer, who is a forthright and passionate campaigner on a quest for equality.

That is all that Senator Buttimer and right-minded people want. I believe it is important that this House is heard on that issue. Senator Buttimer has articulated that in a most brilliant way this afternoon.

One unintended consequence, maybe if there is a light at the end of the road, is that the hosting of the World Cup in Qatar gives us all a dose of reality and hammers home to us that there are parts of the world that are not as lucky as we are and that so much work has yet to be done globally. That work starts in every single jurisdiction, home and democracy to try to right these awful, horrible wrongs that are still unapologetically alive and well in our society. In a brazen way, we must face that down and take a leaf out of Senator Buttimer's book.

I also want to be associated with the comments made by Senator Buttimer on what is happening. People knew that this was going to happen as the World Cup taking place in Qatar, even though there have been human rights abuse in that place, has been spoken about for a long time. Unfortunately, we are not surprised by the situation there. It is a great shame that the captains of the soccer teams did not show leadership at a certain moment. I firmly believe that if they cannot show leadership by wearing an armband on a pitch, then I do not know what support they can offer a member of their team who may be a member of the LGBT community.

I wish to talk about what happened in the East Wall over the past couple of days. My heart is broken thinking about the people who have fled war and sought safety and asylum here in Ireland. I cannot imagine how they are feeling. Let us imagine if any one of us had to leave Ireland to seek a better life and get a start for our families only to be met by what was, quite frankly, a baying mob. The scenes that I watched online were unbelievable and shocking. What happened over the weekend was disgraceful. I believe the community there is being manipulated by bad actors who seek to take advantage of a community that is weary from societal neglect and feel like they have been left behind. The extreme far right are thriving on seeding this panic. They will simply skip off into the sunset and find other places, which we have seen in Oughterard, Roosky, Moville and all over the country. They manoeuvre themselves around the place and whip up fear and hatred. They do absolutely nothing for communities outside of pitting them against each other.

I want to put it on the record that immigrants do not come here and take anyone's jobs. If anyone was laid off in favour of cheap immigrant labour, then they need to blame the capitalist masters who decided that they wanted cheap labour and decided to take advantage of the immigrant to increase their profits with little or no care or regard for the consequences of their actions. It is that capitalist master who rubs his or her hands with glee as immigrants are blamed for the woes of society and the capitalist master is not blamed for his or her greed or endless pursuit of profit. Immigrants do not come here and take people's houses. They do not come here and take people's healthcare. They are not to blame for a scarcity of resources. Societal resourcing is the responsibility of the State, not the people who come here for a better life.

I wish to commend the members of the East Wall community who have gone to the site to let the frightened people there know that they are welcome here. I would like to make a point to those who have taken it upon themselves to fall into the trap of protesting that people are coming here for a better life. First, protestors would be better off not blaming immigrants for things that have been caused by decades of capitalist decisions. Second, they would be better off protesting the for-profit housing policies designed for speculators and big business. I join with the community in East Wall who have called for proper supports for the community there. They are currently in beds in partitions and big office spaces. I commend anyone who has said that refugees are welcome here and that they are not to be blamed for society's woes.

I join with Senator Hoey's words. It was quite upsetting to see what happened in East Wall over the weekend because you come from a community, you have a certain algorithm on your social media and you see that it is people you care about and people you love who are sharing some of those sentiments.

It can be difficult to step into those conversations with people you care about while also having some sort of understanding as to what may have led to the position whereby they are sharing that stuff online or joining in with the mob. We must try to come at this with a certain analysis or insight that allows for a lack of defensiveness in order that we can have those conversations. Unfortunately, those who fall into the trap of the anti-immigrant narrative that is being fed to them often have very little power, agency and autonomy in their everyday lives. I sometimes wonder whether it is the human condition to seek power over other people. If we have little power, how can we exercise power and autonomy in our everyday lives? If somebody comes along and tells people they can exercise their power in this particular direction, they may do so because they do not feel they have the capacity to exercise that power upwards at the State, administrative decisions, bureaucracy, politics and the concentration of power. They look to where they can exercise the little power they have.

Unfortunately, we politicians sometimes buy into the same trap when people come to us saying immigrants were not vetted or there was no consultation. We then start saying there should be consultation. No, there should not be consultation. We should be empowering communities to be part of the humanitarian response. We should be empowering and resourcing communities to be the welcoming committees that are there and waiting for people to arrive. That is what the consultation should be. It is about being part of the process.

Where we come from, who we are and where we were born is not our fault but it is our responsibility. We cannot always control who we are, what we are fleeing, the conditions we have grown up in and whether we have housing and safety, but it is our responsibility. For me, for communities like mine and for the people of East Wall, we should take that responsibility in another direction and with the good heart I know we all have because we extend it our neighbours on a daily basis. We need to call out racist and anti-immigrant sentiment. If questions are being asked as to why people were not vetted, where the women and children are and why there was no consultation, we need to remind people this is anti-immigrant sentiment and that we do not vet our neighbours when they move in next door. We do not vet people when a new estate opens in our community and new residents move into it. It is not a normal thing to vet people in those situations.

We must stand up and say it when anti-immigrant sentiment is being expressed. We should not look to the mood of the electorate or whether the mob will vote for us to decide what we should or should not say. We must be strong and make sure the humanitarian response does not end by just letting people into the country.

Hear, hear.

The humanitarian response must be extended to them every day they are here.

I second Senator O'Loughlin's proposed amendment to the Order of Business.

I agree with the comments by Senators Hoey and Ruane on the importance of language and how we all have a responsibility to welcome refugees and asylum seekers to this country and challenge those who spread misinformation and untruths.

I equally commend the contribution of Senator Buttimer highlighting the tragic events in Colorado and pointing out, once again, the disgrace that was the decision by FIFA to award the hosting of the World Cup to Qatar.

I raise the statement in the High Court yesterday by Mr. Justice Meenan in which he referred to the "dramatic increase" in the number of actions against the HSE regarding the assessment of children with special needs. He said seven new applications are coming before the High Court each week involving parents who have to fight for their children in that situation. As legislators, I believe we have done a good job in this area in many ways. We passed the Disability Act. We have a very good disability committee, an excellent autism committee and an indefatigable Minister of State with responsibility for disability services, Deputy Rabbitte. There is unity in the House on this issue. We have heard people talk about what we can do for those with disabilities and learning difficulties. However, what really frustrates me and drives me mad is that family after family must resort to the courts to secure their rights. Almost inevitably, we see the same thing happen when those cases end up before the courts.

In almost every single case, the parents have been dragged through the legal process. The courts will say the legislation, particularly under the Disability Act 2005, is very clear that the State has an obligation to provide for these children. However, this should not just be because it says it legislatively but because it is the right thing to do. I am tired of engaging with families and with people I know and care about who are having to fight their case all the time.

It is not just the HSE in these cases. We are also talking about agencies such as the Department of Education. I still recall when Andrew Geary had to fight for his deaf son, Calum. Again, they were dragged to the steps of the High Court before the Department of Education finally settled. I know Senator Boyhan referred to this with regard to those who are deaf but we need a broader debate. It is no good us talking in this House about our legislative provision for those with a disability and special needs and about the work we do as politicians if, in the first instance, the approach of the HSE and the Department of Education, any time there is a challenge, is to lawyer up. This has to be a debate around the culture that exists within the State. When it comes to somebody with a disability, why are we not looking in the first instance at how we can provide the necessary supports at a local level? We talk about speech and language therapy and everything else, and it is quite often far cheaper to intervene at an earlier stage. There is a crucial Supreme Court decision coming up in this area which will uphold this, but we need a debate in this House and within broader society as to why it is, when we have made legislative provision very clearly and want to support these families, the State continues to drag them kicking and screaming to the doors of the High Court.