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

Commiserations to Deputy Naughten and congratulations to the Ceann Comhairle. You were superb, a Cheann Comhairle, in the last Dáil. I saw you in all those committees where you were fair and forward-thinking. I do not know if there is a record but there was no one thrown out, as I recall, in the last Dáil. That should not be an encouragement in this Dáil for someone to try to test the limits of it. You were an ambassador for this House. I saw you in the trip to Egypt and the hugely beneficial work you did.

I have been asking myself if there is any chink in your armour or any room for improvement. An anecdote came to my mind. Back in the distant time of my youth, there was a local priest and we gave him the nickname Slap-Dash Harry. He had that nickname because we were guaranteed when he would do the half five mass on a Saturday evening, I think he got it down to about 15 minutes. It was the fastest mass one would ever go to. We would be home in time for the news or the match or whatever. We chose in the last Dáil to hold this minute's silence. I am not criticising here because it is a small thing but I think yourself and the former Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Pat the Cope Gallagher, had a competition for who could shorten the minute's silence down. I had you timed at 11 seconds once, a Cheann Comhairle. I think we will need that minute's silence in the coming months and years. We will need moments to get peaceful reflection and draw our breath before we speak. That is the only small change I would make. You were a brilliant Ceann Comhairle and I wish you the best of luck in this new role.

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