Mark Dearey (Green Party)

I thank Senators for their kind words and warm welcome. I am surprised to see how many Members I have already met in various guises. I was in Senator Quinn's shop as a young boy with my mother and I served Senator Hannigan a libation. This has been a curious hour.

I thank the Leader for his welcome and I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for allowing me to say these few words. As Senators will have gathered, this is the second most momentous 23 February I have experienced. I will say no more. Enough has been said. I thank my wife and members of the Louth Green Party constituency group who are here. This is proud day for me and I know they are proud of what our group has achieved locally. Last June, in a very bad local election, we secured four seats across the local authorities in Louth. I am confident that as I move to this Chamber the business of the county will be well looked after. I will not be taking my eye off any of it.

I have one or two regrets. One is that I will miss tomorrow evening's joint meeting of Dundalk Town Council and Newry and Mourne District Council. There cannot have been a more important meeting of those bodies for many a year, following the car bomb in Newry yesterday. Whatever means we have to provide political momentum in the Border region and throughout the North should be used. I hope the meeting will provide further momentum to the political process in the North.