Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the people who gave us such a wonderful presentation, especially Mr. Ó Murchú, whom I have known for many years and who was a great friend of my father. They did many great things together. I am proud that my father was, as Mr. Ó Murchú said, chairman of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Kerry for five years. I am proud that we had seven fleánna cheoil in Kilgarvan, with one being the Munster fleadh cheoil in 1977. It was a wonderful achievement for a small place like Kilgarvan to host a Munster fleadh cheoil and six other Kerry county fleánna cheoil.

Music is an integral part of our country and people. Music is there to be played by everyone. There was a great accordion player and musician in Castleisland who died in the past few months, Jackie Dan Jerry O'Connor. He used to say that music is there to be played by everyone. I am glad to see Mr. Kieran Hanrahan here. I admit to listening to him whenever I can on Saturday nights; it is one of the high points of the radio that I want to listen to every week. He follows on from Din Joe and "Take the Floor". I remember being a small fellow with my grandmother and if I opened my mouth when Eamon Kelly was giving his piece, she would split me with the brush.

I appreciate music and the role it plays. We can think about people with disabilities who can do little, especially blind people, who depend on music to brighten their lives a bit. It crosses all divides. As Mr. Ó Murchú noted in referring to the fleadh in the North a couple of years ago, it crosses all political divides and religious beliefs. All types of music are there to be appreciated by everyone.

There has been great improvement in the education of our youngsters in national and secondary schools. The opportunities they get are wonderful. I can mention a few young fellows like Bryan O'Leary, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, and Johnny O'Leary, also from Sliabh Luachra. They are carrying on the tradition. There is Conor Moriarty in Kilcummin, James Kelleher in Kilgarvan and so many other people. We had World Fiddle Day at Scartaglin last weekend. Such events bring so many people and ensure that a small place like Scartaglin can retain its identity as a really great place for music. There are several other places, including Brosna, which has the Con Curtin weekend, an even to which we look forward. We will have the Castlemaine fleadh cheoil that is coming up in a few weeks. My father and the late Bishop Casey opened that fleadh when it was held there on a previous occasion.

I was amazed by the presentations, especially that of Ms Brady. She did not look at one note when she was talking about 902 participants in a course, for example. She has it all in her head, which demonstrates how committed she is to what she is doing. Ms Molloy gave a wonderful presentation and we must appreciate and acknowledge the amount of money that Bono and his group are committing to the country. I did not hear Ms Molloy mention Kerry in the centres being provided with funding but I was glad to hear at the end of her contribution that the rest of the country would be included. I am hopeful and ask her to ensure that Kerry is included in any funding. We have wonderful children who deserve to get the same opportunity as people everywhere else.

Mr. Keenan gave us much information about what he is doing and I can see he is a very busy man. We appreciate what he is doing. As I said at the start, music is for everyone and it makes a difference. When we size up what we achieve in life, including the good parts, all we have at the end of the day is enough to eat, somewhere to lie down and music to listen to. Having that means we are kings in our own minds.

I am glad to be here to welcome the witnesses to the Oireachtas committee. Mr. Ó Murchú was around these buildings much longer than I have been. He knows his way around and he will not get lost here at all. I thank the witnesses for all their presentations. They are wonderful people and they should be applauded and supported. They should not be afraid to make a request of me for anything. I am here to help in any way I can.