Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Kim is facilitating hope. That is so important and finally there is Eimear. We have young people here but I want to mention one person who is not so young but has broken the mould and is a trailblazer, and that is Linda Ervine from east Belfast. Recently I visited Wales where all of the signs are bilingual. I believe that one only reinforces division by not allowing everyone to have a language. In my experience, and I must not take other people for granted, but in the South, as Senator Boyhan said, things are fine here. For example, a good friend of mine of 20 years is a Green Party county councillor on the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. His father recently died and at the last minute I was out in the Dún Laoghaire trying to find a church but I did not know whether I had to attend a church belonging to the Church of Ireland or the Catholic Church so I had to ring my office for directions. I did not know his religion as the subject never arose once in our friendship of 20 years, which is liberating to think about. It would be wonderful if we could get the whole island to think like that. That is the high standard we must reach and if we get there then we are in business.