Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of my colleagues and Deputy Healy, I welcome the four new Deputies to this House. I agree with Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett that we must reflect on the participation in our democratic system. It is a major honour to be elected and be part of our constitutional Republic. The very centre of this and the source of everything we do in this country is the vote and the fact that the individual is sovereign. Each of us is king or queen. This should steer the work of all four Deputies, who represent everybody in their constituencies. Thinking beyond that, we are a national assembly, and to take Edmund Burke's advice, it is not Deputies' industry that is needed but their independent opinion in the national interest and representing all our people. It is what we seek and try to do. If we can do that, maybe we will restore confidence and the numbers of people who vote, which is the centre of everything.

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