Seán Dorgan (Fianna Fail)

Like Senator O'Gorman, as this is my maiden speech, I ask the Acting Chairman for her patience and forbearance while I briefly go through a number of matters of importance to me. Like all Members, I welcome the Minister of State to the House, congratulate him on his appointment to the Department of Finance and wish him well. I welcome the Bill.

Having followed the affairs of the Seanad as an interested observer for many years, it is a great privilege to address the House as a Member. I thank all Members for their warm welcome and kind comments since my appointment by the Taoiseach two weeks ago.

Mine is an interim appointment and my time in the House will be short. However, it is a huge honour for me and my family to serve as Senator. I am sure it is a memory I will treasure for the rest of my life. As I stand here today, I am conscious that I stand in a chamber that is hugely important to our democracy, a chamber that has made a long-lasting and invaluable contribution to the development of our republic.

In my day job as general secretary of Fianna Fáil, I have closely observed in recent years the workings and business of this House. I am aware of the commitment and contributions made by Members from all sides to the continued working of our democracy. Sometimes I am frustrated and annoyed when I hear some commentators criticise the Seanad, among other things, many of whom have probably never visited the House or studied its workings.

Yesterday I heard some Members call for reform of the Seanad. That is something to which Fianna Fáil is committed. Some years ago Fianna Fáil made a detailed submission on the reform of the Seanad to the group shared by then Leader, now Deputy Mary O'Rourke. I visited here at that time with colleagues from our party to present our submission. I note that the programme for Government makes a commitment to seek cross-party support to establish areas of agreement in terms of moving that report forward.

To have been nominated by the Taoiseach is a personal honour. However, I see it more as a recognition of our party's staff who have worked so hard all year round to support our leader, our elected representatives, and during the past two years our election candidates, along with our 50,000 plus members. Today I pay tribute to them. They are a dynamic, committed team and combine a mix of youth and experience together with a uniform dedication.