Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I congratulate Senator Norris on his standing as father of the House and on his long and distinguished service in the Seanad. I was very pleased to see him elected to Seanad Éireann again.

Today, I have the great honour as Fianna Fáil leader in the House to propose Senator Denis O'Donovan for the position of Cathaoirleach. The position must be filled by a person with the highest levels of integrity, professionalism and fairness and, above all, by a person who respects the democratic mandate on all sides of the House. Senator O'Donovan is such a person and if elected will bring a wealth of experience to the role. He was elected to Cork County Council in 1985 and was chairman from 1989 to 1990. He first took office in Seanad Éireann in 1989. During his career, he has served on numerous committees and chaired the all-party Committee on the Constitution during his time as a Member of Dáil Éireann from 2002 to 2007. Under his stewardship, the committee made considerable progress in a number of important areas, including paving the way for the civil partnership Bill and a referendum on the rights of the child. More recently, Senator O'Donovan served as Leas-Chathaoirleach in the Twenty-fourth Seanad and I have no doubt his experience as Leas-Chathaoirleach will only enhance his performance as Cathaoirleach should he be elected.

As some Members may know, Senator Donovan was one of 11 children from the Sheep's Head Peninsula in west Cork. While many of his siblings emigrated, he was able to take advantage of the system of free education introduced at the time and attend college. He studied law in UCC and was admitted to the role of solicitors in 1978. He enjoys the support of his partner, Eileen, and his four children Naomi, Luke, Gerard and Donnachada, all of whom live in Ireland. I have no doubt that if elected Senator O'Donovan will carry out the duties of Cathaoirleach efficiently and with professionalism, integrity and, most of all, with fairness. For these reasons, I have great pleasure in proposing Senator O'Donovan for the position of Cathaoirleach of the Twenty-fifth Seanad.