John Kelly (Labour)

I congratulate you, a Chathaoirligh, on your appointment. As a fellow west of Ireland man, you will get my full support. I hope, when the Rossies beat your county in the Connacht championship this year, you will fully support me thereafter.

I am honoured to be the first elected Oireachtas Member for the Labour Party from Roscommon-South Leitrim. It is a great honour for my father Kevin Kelly, who is in the Visitor's Gallery today, my mother, my wife Bríd and my three kids who are downstairs.

Furthermore, I am thrilled to be in a position from where I can make positive contributions to the business of this House. My objective is not to focus on the past because the past has been replayed too much. We should focus on the future. The question that will consume me over the duration of the House operating will be what I can do to make positive change here. In the future I hope to use my unique expertise to inform the House on such issues as how we can best use the social welfare budget more effectively.

I want to reopen the debate on the restructuring of rural Ireland because its full potential has not yet been exploited. In that respect, I was not surprised when NBC covered ten minutes of the US President's European tour in a small village called Moneygall. It was the centre-piece highlight of its coverage. The station chose to focus on the magic and mystery of it and the huge céad míle fáilte that rural Ireland has to offer.

My aim is to make a positive contribution to this House. It will not be made up of sound bites - hopefully, just substance. For me, the future starts today.