Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

Yes. I wish to share time with Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan and Mattie McGrath.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for this opportunity to pay tribute to the great work of President Mary McAleese on her last day as President of this country. She has served her country well for 14 magnificent years. She is a person of great courage, integrity and a President who reached out and built many bridges with all of our people on the island. That was the constant theme during her 14 years as President. She has helped us all to come on a long journey. The regular contribution of our President during the past number of years has been to reach out to the marginalised, bringing people, North and South, together, particularly cross-party. She was also a magnificent woman in reaching out to people with disabilities, particularly people with intellectual disabilities. She had 14 years of opening the Áras to bring in people with disabilities and many of other marginalised groups. I commend and thank her for that.

It is important in paying tribute that we also say to Mary McAleese: "we thank you for helping us all to try to build a democratic, inclusive country". That is something we all needed, and a vision I have always had. I always wanted a President who would bring Catholic, Protestant, dissenter, Hindu, Muslim, Jew and non-believers together, celebrating diversity and accommodating difference. That is what Mary McAleese did during the past 14 years, for which I commend her.

Mary McAleese has spent her time as President building bridges and reaching out to the opposite side of the community. We have a duty as Members of this House to continue on that journey to reach out and break down barriers, particularly to reach out to people who are on the opposite side of the fence and to many people with whom we would strongly disagree. Many bridges have to be built and we have to try to do our best to end political exclusion. That to me, was also a theme of Mary McAleese. I encourage all of our people to carry on that tradition and the great vision of President Mary McAleese.

I pay special tribute to her husband, Martin, for his own great peace work and particularly in reaching out to the loyalist and Unionist communities. This type of peace-building is at times not very popular or trendy but when good people do it and they deliver all of us have a duty to acknowledge and respect that. However, there is also a lesson in that. We need to get balance and to ensure that all of us are fair to all of the people directly affected by the conflict on this island. That is something we, as Members of the Oireachtas, need to do.

I welcome this opportunity to congratulate Mary McAleese on her 14 wonderful years and I wish her, Martin and their family the best of luck in the future.

See this speech in context