Joe Conway (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leat, a Chathaoirligh, agus ar an gcéad dul sios ba mhaith liom fíor-chomhgháirdeachas a ghabháil leat ar do cheapachán ar an gcoiste seo. Tá siúl agam go mbeidh tú beannaithe le dea-shláinte as seo amach agus go mbeidh tú ábalta ansin smacht a chuir ar an gcoiste seo ar aon nós.

I read somewhere about how someone had remarked that, when he was 15 years of age, he thought his father knew nothing but when he reached 40, he could not believe how much his father had learned in the intervening 25 years. I started my work in education on 1 July 1957, which was when I started as a junior infant in Ardagh national school in County Longford. Between then and 31 January 2025, when I was very privileged to be elected to the Seanad, I have been continuously involved in education in Ireland, so I have seen a lot of things come and go. After 67 years of involvement in education, the one thing that I know is how very little I know about it in the grand scheme of things. That is why I am buoyed up by the enthusiasm displayed by fellow members here. I think they will all bring their enthusiasms and geniuses. See that? I do not even know what the plural of "genius" is.