Dáil debates

Thursday, 23 January 2025

Taoiseach a Ainmniú (Atógáil) - Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed)

 

3:45 am

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today I am deeply conscious of the democratic tradition our country has developed over more than a century. We should never take for granted the freedoms and opportunities secured for us by the generations who sat here before us, and by the men and women who fought and campaigned for the establishment of Dáil Éireann. Our democracy has remained strong through some of the gravest challenges of a turbulent century. We have continued to have free debate and free elections. We have never wavered in our commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes.

The most powerful thing about the mandate each of us in this House holds is that it is based on the support of our families, our supporters, in most cases, our parties and, above all, our communities.

I could not be more thankful to all of those who have been at my side and have helped me to achieve the honour of being nominated to serve as Taoiseach. It is the nature of politics that the focus is mostly on the few of us who achieve office, but the role of those who work with and for us is central. I want to thank those who work for our party and have kept our voice and our representation so strong. They never believed the predictions and had faith that our people and our policies would prevail. I also want to thank the many friends and colleagues who have helped me over the years and who, with typical Cork modesty, advocate on a regular basis for the well-being of my home city and county. As they have grown, my children Micheál Aodh, Aoibhe and Cillian have moved from being observers to being pillars for me. They are unflinching in their advice and constant in their support. I have been blessed to have a partner in Mary who has done so much more than just keeping me rooted. No position I have held, and nothing I have achieved, would have been possible without her.

I would also like to acknowledge my wider family and especially my late parents, Paddy and Lana. Yesterday was the anniversary of the passing of my late father. This week every year, I remember all he did for us and the values he lived by every day. A strong and athletic sporting man, he was also quiet and determined in the small and large steps he took every day to help others. The Córas Iompair Éireann, CIE, widow and orphans fund, which he founded, helping hundreds of families at tough times of the year, was just one example of his commitment to turning values into action. Ours was a home where service to the wider community and an understanding of shared responsibility within society was always the defining value.

Turners Cross was a wonderful place to grow up in, and I will always be grateful to Coláiste Chríost Rí, both primary and secondary, for the education and encouragement our teachers gave to me and my generation.

My respect for and belief in the essential role teachers play in building communities and society stems from the inspiring guidance I received from many of my teachers, who were ambitious for us and who set the sky as the limit. It was also there that I first learned of the power of political action, as few of us working-class kids could have hoped to complete school without the revolution which the then Minister for Education, Donogh O’Malley, and former Taoiseach Jack Lynch introduced.

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