We should, on remembering the visit of Joe Biden here to Leinster House, remark on the wonderful job that was done by the staff of Leinster House, and how everything ran so smoothly within the House. The Cathaoirleach's speech was exceptional, and I congratulate you. It was a very well delivered and poignant speech in its own way, and I would like to compliment you.

With respect to the Civil Service, civil servants have served this country well over its 100 years. Sadly however, at the very top of the Civil Service, there are some who believe they are unanswerable to anybody. We saw a report of the appointment of Dr. Tony Holohan yesterday, and what went on in the background prior to that. I strongly believe that the time has come to review the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924. It is 99 years old, and it is about time to review it.

I ask the Leader to use her good offices to bring a debate to this House that would review the Ministers and Secretaries Act. The function of a parliament is to oversee what goes on. My personal experience is that any time we try to oversee the actions of Departments, we are met with a plethora of reasons as to why we cannot have information that we need. I am talking particularly about the Department of Transport, and the difficulty I have had in trying to get information regarding search and rescue in this country, the extraordinary cost to the country, and what may or may not be covered in the contract. The Secretary General just tells us he will not come. On five occasions he has told us he will not come, using one half-excuse after another.

What we saw yesterday with Dr. Tony Holohan - a man who served this country well - and the shenanigans that took place in the background, was just totally unacceptable. It suggests there are people who believe they are not answerable in any way. I would like that debate, if the Leader could organise it.

A Chathaoirligh, I wish to echo the compliments of others to you on your remarks for President Biden's visit here last week, and to compliment the staff of the Houses on their wonderful organisation of a wonderful occasion.

The Leader will be aware that over Easter, there was a lot of discussion around the racist abuse of a Wexford sportsman, and indeed a national sportsman, Lee Chin. Lee has given enormous service to the GAA in County Wexford and is regarded as a role model in sport generally. He has done a lot to encourage young people to get involved in the game. It was all the more a pity that this racist abuse happened at a charity match between Wexford and Tipperary.

The GAA is dealing with it. I am quite happy with how strongly it intends to address it. However, we need to hold a debate around racism in sport and more widely in society. It is something of deep concern.

The Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, of which Senator Cassells and I are members, published a report on abuse in sport. For any sports organisation that fails to take strong action where there is abuse of any kind against officials, referees or sports stars, the committee report stated there should be implications for the organisation regarding State funding. This should not just apply to national governing bodies. It should equally apply to sports clubs, not just in the GAA but across all disciplines if we allow this to continue. I include sports capital grants in this regard because any sports club that does not take the issue of discrimination and abuse seriously should not have access to funding. I ask that the Leader facilitate a debate around the topic of racism and discrimination in sport and invite the Minister responsible for sport to come to the House to discuss the matter.