Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)
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Like all other members, I wish the Cathaoirleach all the best and congratulate him. I am really looking forward to working on this particular body. I am a Louth-based Senator, and therefore a Border-based Senator. It is particularly important for me to see not only how we can stretch our hands across a very close Border but also how we can work throughout the entire shared island as we now call it.

I did not always work in politics. I have been a journalist for 30 years and have worked with Sky News, UTV Ireland and BBC Northern Ireland. As a young reporter, I had the great honour to be on Ormeau Avenue on 10 April 1998, the day the Good Friday Agreement was signed. The young reporters who were there will never forget looking out the window at Mr. Blair and Mr. Ahern arriving into the yard. We were very excited but we could not have possibly known how seismic it would be. We still see the ripples here now, 25 years later. I feel very honoured that I can be a part of not just implementing anything that has not yet been reached, but seeing how we can improve what has happened already and how we can work with the likes of volunteer organisations, cultural organisations and everything civic that may not have been touched on in the agreement. I look forward to working with each and every member.