Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I offer congratulations to the Ceann Comhairle on his re-election and I offer commiserations to Deputy Naughten. While he failed to be elected he made some very good suggestions, which we should consider seriously. Many of us share his frustration with parliamentary questions, for example, those on health, which are batted from the Department to the HSE and take a long time to come back. He made some very useful suggestions in that regard. His appeal for us to always consider the rights of all Members, particularly those who are not in groups, is an important point.

I commend Deputy Ó Fearghaíl on being a very fair, accessible and reforming Ceann Comhairle over the past four years. The Business Committee was a particular success in getting everybody involved in setting the agenda of the Dáil. He was always very fair and accommodating in trying to ensure that as much as was possible all items suggested for the agenda were put on it. That has made this Dáil a more relevant and accessible place where Deputies can not only make suggestions but be the vehicle through which groups in society that wanted to raise particular issues here were able to get them on the agenda. It is terribly important that we continue to do that. I commend the Ceann Comhairle on facilitating that on the Business Committee and the Sub-Committee on Dáil Reform.

I congratulate the Ceann Comhairle. For all of us elected for the first time and those re-elected, it is a privilege to be in here but it is also a heavy responsibility that we owe to the people who put us in here, to make sure we give real effect to their wishes and aspirations for a better, fairer society. I am confident that the Ceann Comhairle will facilitate us in trying to achieve that, and I hope we can take things further and better in the coming Dáil.

See this speech in context