James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus na daoine uaisle. Is onóir an domhain é a bheith ainmnithe mar Leas-Chathaoirleach. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Brendan Smith for the nomination agus gach duine ar an gcommittee who supported me. It is a great honour to be elected Vice Chairman of this committee. I look forward to working with the Chairman, with other members of the committee and with all stakeholders across the island and indeed across the Celtic nations and other islands as we move forward. I look forward to the job ahead. I want to pay tribute to Senator Ó Donnghaile who was unsuccessful on this occasion but is no doubt a huge asset to the committee and who indeed has more experience on it than I do myself so I am sure we will all be working together, agus ní neart go cur le chéile.

I obviously was not involved in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement. I was a student at the time but I paid very careful attention and I remember well going to my local post office when the text was made available to the nation. I studied it line by line and detail by detail and through Ógra Fianna Fáil got involved in campaigning for it at that time. One of my first outings as a young politician was going across the Border to Stormont to meet the youth wings of the other parties and that was the start. Twenty years on, I still have many connections across the Border and indeed across the Celtic nations with Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party, SNP, as well. I am no stranger to all sides of the island and hope to bring some of that to bear and to look forward making new relationships in working with the committee and with all sides to advance a shared island, a united Ireland and all of those goals which are so important to all of us on this committee.