Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an gceathrar Teachtaí Dála nua. On behalf of the Rural Independent Group and other Independents, I congratulate the four successful Deputies and welcome them here today and their family members and supporters who went out in all kinds of weather and knocked on doors for them.

It is a major honour, as others have alluded to, to be elected to this Dáil and come to the Chamber today. The new Deputies will need to be careful how they vote tonight to ensure they will not be gone again this evening. There is a learning curve and it is a great exercise in democracy that the new Deputies and all the other candidates put themselves before the people for selection.

Like others, I am concerned about the low turnout. People are fud na tíre and in rural Ireland are definitely concerned as there has always been a healthy turnout in rural Ireland. People are concerned that successive Governments have abandoned them and are not listening. They want to be listened to. I wish the four new Deputies all the best for as long as they are here and for their future careers.

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