Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I congratulate you, a Chathaoirligh, on your not unexpected but well deserved promotion to high office. I am sure you will do a superb job. I also congratulate Senator Maurice Cummins on becoming Leader of the Seanad. Senator Cummins will bring to the House not just a great deal of experience but a different sort of political tradition which we often speak about, namely, the long-standing Redmondite parliamentary tradition of politics. It might be new to some of my colleagues but it is a tradition which Senator Cummins represents proudly in this House. He is the ultimate democrat and he will do a marvellous job as Leader.

It would be remiss of me not to congratulate my room-mate who may shortly have to move to higher office, Senator Coghlan, on his promotion to the job of Government Chief Whip. If we fail to resolve in-house any little disputes we may have, we will be able to resolve them in another place with a more rarefied atmosphere. The appointment of Senator Coghlan is inspired and he will bring calm and reassurance to all of us.

We have been advised not to make long contributions today but I wish to make a number of comments. I congratulate every Member of the House, whether elected by the vocational panels, the Discover Ireland route, or the more rarefied electorate of the university centres and last but by no means least those people who were fortunate enough to receive a telephone call from the Taoiseach last Friday. They are not members of an exclusive political club in this House. They are members of a vital component of the Irish democratic system.

The one point I picked up from one or two of my friends on the opposite side of the House was when they promised robust opposition. I do not say this by way of any criticism but what we should aspire to have in this House, and what we have always had, is robust debate. I have been fortunate to serve in both Houses of the Oireachtas. We do not engage in the Punch and Judy politics of Dáil Éireann. We have genuine, serious political discourse. That is the foundation block on which Seanad Éireann was built and on which we must continue to engage in genuine political discourse that is robust, realistic and radical.

I congratulate the Fianna Fáil Senators. That may be unusual coming from this side of the House but we were on that side once. We were in that position following the 2002 election. I know they have come through very difficult political times and I congratulate each of them on being here today. Obviously, the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party are now much bigger. We have a different set of responsibilities to lead the political debate but I am sure we will all work together.

I will break with tradition and congratulate Senator Jim D'Arcy on his maiden speech and his delivery of it. I have had a huge interest in the politics of Northern Ireland over the past 20 years. I served in the British-Irish body and in various North-South bodies. However, we are in a space regarding Northern Ireland where we can finally start calling a spade and spade and stop the tiptoeing politics of pretending that black is white and white is black. A great deal of realistic talk about republicanism has been brought to the House by Senator Jim D'Arcy. We will have a much more proactive debate about the future of this island.

Senator Ó Murchú mentioned how Sinn Féin had carried out a valid role in speaking for the Nationalists of Northern Ireland. I do not disagree but we should never forget the very valid role carried out by the SDLP which decided to take the road less travelled. SDLP members, Seamus Mallon and Bríd Rodgers, sat in this House long before members of Sinn Féin. I recall Seamus Mallon coining the phrase, "Sunningdale for slow learners", and the thousands of people who died who could be alive if people had taken his advice 20 years previously.

To conclude on a more harmonious note, I am pleased to be re-elected and I look forward to working with all my colleagues. It will be an interesting Seanad and if this afternoon's preview is anything to go by, we will have robust debate and dialogue. My friend, Senator Mullen, appeared slightly concerned that there is a drift to the left ideologically. I assure him that the Christian democratic wing of Fine Gael is alive and kicking.