Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ar mo shon féin, ar son an Rialtais, ar son Fhine Gael agus ar son na Neamhspleáigh, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na Teachtaí nua-thofa. To be elected to serve in Dáil Éireann is one of the greatest honours that our citizens can bestow on any of us, and has been since the first men and women were elected here 100 years ago. Today will be a memorable day for Deputies Pádraig O’Sullivan, Joe O’Brien, Mark Ward and Malcolm Byrne, as well as for their families and supporters who have joined them here for the occasion. They must be very proud, and rightly so. I especially want to welcome those who are in the Gallery for this momentous day. The Deputies are joining us three and a half years into the Thirty-second Dáil. I hope their stay will not be a short one. I bear a little regret that having lost two fine women and two fine men, they have been replaced by four men. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to rectify that in the not-too-distant future. It is good to see that our new Deputies are all former members of local authorities. One of them is a former member of Fingal County Council, where I started my political life. It is good to see that the new Deputies have come into politics through the traditional route. They have already demonstrated their commitment to public service and to the local communities they represent. While we will disagree at times on policy and while we might argue on how to solve the challenges of our time, I think all of us in politics are united by a single desire to make the communities where we live better places and to make our country a better place too. My wish is that we all seek to do our best in a spirit of humility, understanding and respect, motivated by the same principles that guided our forebears when they first gathered here 100 years ago. I congratulate the new Deputies and welcome them to Dáil Éireann.

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