Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I have said, they gave of their time when other people were out pounding the pavements. Many of them are running for election. I wish them well. Indeed, I wish all of my colleagues in the Seanad and in government who are running for election the very best of luck. I would also like to mention the co-operation we received from Senator Wilson. I know we had our spats on occasion but I want to refer particularly to the co-operation we received. We have seen how the Independent Senators, including those nominated by the Taoiseach, have co-operated, albeit not on every occasion. The Independents stepped forward in the context of bringing that out.

I would like to congratulate the Minister for Education and Skills on her announcement yesterday of the introduction of politics and society as a new subject on the leaving certificate curriculum. If it does nothing else, I hope it will inform students of how important it is that everybody who has a vote goes out and uses it - both in the Seanad election and the general election - because that will determine how we run the country. The new leaving certificate subject, politics and society, will educate people on how important this is. We have seen its importance for people from every sector of society. I think that is where the Seanad has been seen. There are people from all sectors of society in here. As I have said, I wish everybody the best of luck going forward. I will finish by saying a big "Thank you" to all of the staff.