Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The reason I proposed this motion was to highlight the excellent work that has been done by Special Olympics Ireland. There is no political reason for this. I merely stated that since I have come into the House, I was fortunate enough to meet with representatives of Special Olympics Ireland, and was so impressed with the work they were doing. I had already been involved on a very local level with my own club at home, for which I am extremely grateful. We had the ten year anniversary. I have been to regional games and local events. We were at the regional finals lately in Kilkenny, where I can happily say that they were two of the best days of my life. I saw children and adults from seven to 70, joining in together for races, running at their own level, being the best people that they can be. I will never forget the atmosphere in every single event that I have attended. The volunteers are absolutely amazing.

Next year they are going to Limerick. I want to publicise that. We had the World Winter Games but we had no correspondence. The Olympic Games last year received lots of coverage, but when it came to the Paralympic Games, we were lacking in this country. The same thing happened with the World Winter Games. We did not have daily bulletins on it. They went on quietly, like so much of the work in the Special Olympics.

I am so grateful for the support for this motion from party colleagues and from the kind things said by Members of the Opposition, including those who put down amendments. I do not want to turn this into a political debate at all. I did not invite representatives of Special Olympics Ireland to listen to a political debate or have people make it political.