Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I am delighted to have the opportunity to address her here from my new perch on the backbenches. I am at the very edge of the Government side right now, clinging on for a few more weeks, but I am very aware that a cold wind will soon blow, pluck me up and deposit me on the Opposition side of the House. However, I am pleased to be here and the Green Party is pleased to be here.

On a very serious note, I thank the people of Dublin West for renewing their trust, faith and confidence in me for another term of office. I pay tribute to my Green Party colleagues who were not returned to the Thirty-fourth Dáil.

I congratulate the Ceann Comhairle on her election today. It is a huge honour for her but also a moment of real significance for Dáil Éireann in that, after over a century, we have finally elected our first woman Ceann Comhairle. I have no doubt that she will carry out her duties with honour, distinction and fairness, and she will have my full support in doing so. When we spoke earlier in the week, I recalled the efficiency with which she chaired a number of debates in the last Oireachtas. I have a sneaking suspicion that a couple of our colleagues here who have a more flexible relationship with timekeeping and, in particular, how it applies to them will get a bit of a land in the weeks to come.

When the Ceann Comhairle and I spoke during the week, I indicated I was going to give my number-one vote to Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, and that is what I did. I thank Seán for the manner in which he carried out his duties over the past eight years. I also thank him for the personal courtesy and genuine kindness he afforded to me as a new Minister learning on the job.

Political capital is a strangely intangible thing. It is not something that can be saved up, it does not accumulate interest, and it does not only grow in size; it is fleeting, can depreciate and can disappear. In 2020, my party had political capital and we spent it over the next four and a half years. The election outcome was hard for us but not for one second do I or any other former member of our parliamentary party regret our participation in government. Green Party Ministers advanced over 40 Bills in the House over the past four and half years and impacted positively on multiple Bills.

I always ask what is the point of sitting in these seats and being granted the highest privilege our democracy can bestow if it is not about seizing the opportunity to deliver real and meaningful change for the good of all people. In the election three weeks ago, two parties of the centre left were given political capital by voters. I urge my colleagues in the Labour Party and the Social Democrats to take the opportunity they have been given. The decisions they make in their engagement with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will have a direct impact on the direction our country takes over the next four or five years. We are at a crossroads. The new Government could continue to have a strong progressive element and advocate climate action, strong public services and a humane approach to migration or it could have a fundamentally more conservative approach. While the outcome of the vote for Ceann Comhairle indicates that, right now, one element is in the ascendant, nothing is decided until the Taoiseach is elected. Our country needs progressive leadership right now. I urge the parties to grasp this opportunity while they have it because there is absolutely no guarantee that the same opportunity will be around in five years' time.

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