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

Deputy Collins and I were neighbours for many years in LH 2000 and I am sure he had the same experience as me. Does the Deputy remember the first day he walked through the gates of Leinster House and getting a tingle in his spine? We all share something in our constitutional and democratic Republic that when one is elected as a Deputy for a constituency one represents all of the people in it. The Deputy represents all of the people in Cork South-West and I represent all of the people of Dublin Bay South, regardless of who they voted for. If they voted for Deputies Andrews or Bacik I still represent them. When we are elected as Deputies we have that tradition that we represent all of the people.

If I were to give advice, and I think everyone gets this anyway, when Deputies are elected and are in government, they are not just thinking about everyone in their constituency. They are thinking about every constituency across the country. We all act and serve in the national interest to do our best for all our people. That is the Republic we live in and what the Proclamation tells us.

The report on energy security needs to be concluded quickly. One of the complications is that we have a lot of interest in Cork, as an example, which is looking to see that there is the potential to convert the significant wind energy we have offshore to hydrogen in Cork Harbour, on Whiddy Island, or in Bantry Bay. It is complicated to understand if it is the right investment or what else we need. We will have to conclude that quickly, but we will do it in a way that gives security and looks after the best interests of our people.

See this speech in context