Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Apart from that, it is genuinely meant. I will start by noting that I came across a quotation a few years ago that really struck me as commendable as a political philosophy. It was by Fr. Pedro Arrupe, a Superior General of the Jesuits of whom Pope Francis is a particular devotee and it states "Let there be men and women who will bend their energies not to strengthen positions of privilege, but, to the extent possible, reduce privilege in favour of the underprivileged." I was so struck by this quotation that I have kept it on the back of my business card ever since. It is a very simple philosophy in that if one helps the underprivileged and the vulnerable, one cannot go wrong politically. It certainly has guided me to protect, in the first instance, the unborn. I hope the situation will never arise in Ireland where, as happens on the other side of the Irish Sea or on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, 25% of unborn babies are aborted because that would be a travesty. It has also guided me to ensuring Members protect the right of every individual and child to a good education. It is striking that 50 years after Donogh O'Malley had the vision of free secondary education, people still look to him and what he achieved. In the future, were Members to apply themselves to invest in education, it would be to the economic benefit of Ireland and its future and would enhance the lifestyle of the people. One item at local level of which I am probably most proud is that I was involved in constructing a couple of advance factories in Wexford and New Ross and two highly successful companies now operate there. This brings me to the third feature, which is that people have a right to employment and to a job. One of the best works of life is to use one's endeavours to raise one's family and I am glad to note the rate of unemployment is falling. It must be halved from its present level and hopefully, all those who were obliged to emigrate during the difficult times will return to Ireland.

On the right to housing, like a number of other Members probably, I grew up in a local authority house. I saw the importance of that and of improving the quality of local authority housing stock. I have taken a lifelong interest in it and must state, as I leave this House, it troubles me that we probably face the biggest housing crisis for many decades in the history of the State. I hope all Members of this House and the incoming Government will make this their top priority.

I thank Senator Ó Domhnaill for his kind comments and good wishes and note he had not yet been born when I started out on this path in 1974. I had never intended to be around for that long and I am sure many other Members also had not yet been born at that time. Having served as a Fianna Fáil public representative for 42 years, 19 of them in this House, I am particularly satisfied with my performance at local level. At national level, one does not necessarily see the outputs and outcomes of the debates in which one participated and it is not easy to identify what are one's achievements.However, there is some unfinished work to which I would like to allude. Along with others, I worked on the sub-committee which examined the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974. Yesterday, I raised the matter at the sovereign committee of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Belfast under the chairmanship of Senator Paul Coghlan. I urged that body to see if it could resolve the issue so that the victims' families would have access to what caused that event and, in particular, the question of collusion.

All my life, since I was a child, one of my great aspirations and ambitions was to see a united Ireland and a British withdrawal from the island of Ireland. That is ongoing work but I have to say, it has not received the focus it should have in recent times because of economic difficulties. I hope we will return to that, reunite the people and move on.

I will conclude by wishing friends, colleagues and all Members of the House safe travel and every success in the election. Go n-éirí go mór libh sna míonna atá romhainn, go mórmhór san olltoghchán don Dáil agus don Seanad. I also express my good wishes to the Clerk of the Seanad and all the staff. At the count in 1997, I was sitting there wondering how many votes I would get and I wondered why all the promises were not coming through in ballot papers. The Clerk, Ms Deirdre Lane, came to me as she put down some bundles and said, "I think we are going to see a little more of you around the House." As it turned out, I was elected then for the first time.

To those retiring, I wish them health, happiness and a long life. I will finish with a short quotation from John Buchan's Pilgrim's Way:

Public life is regarded as the crown of a career, and to young men [and women] it is the worthiest ambition. Politics is still the greatest and the most honourable adventure.

Go n-éirí go mór libh.