Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, ar mo shon féin agus ar son Fhine Gael, ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas a dhéanamh leat agus ardtacaíocht a thabhairt duit mar Chathaoirleach an tSeanaid. Bain taitneamh as an lá. Is lá bródúil é do do chlann agus do do pháirtí, Eileen.

In congratulating the Cathaoirleach, I pledge to him my support and that of the Fine Gael Members. We look forward to working with the Cathaoirleach in ensuring that this Seanad is a Seanad of reform and that it is one that will define how politics in this House is done in the future.

I pay tribute to the Cathaoirleach. I had the pleasure of getting to know him in the previous Seanad and to count him as a friend. Senator Norris was being a little unfair when he mentioned the harbours.He nearly managed to put the harbours Bill into the ether with the length of his speeches and the tome of work from which he read. He comes to the office of Cathaoirleach with huge knowledge and a wealth of experience in local and national government. We will work with him to ensure our business is carried out in a way that is beneficial to the workings of the House. I look forward to working with everybody in the House.

As I stated, I commend and thank Senator Rose Conway-Walsh for contesting. It is important in a democracy that there be a contest. It is healthy.

The membership of this Seanad is vastly different from that of the last one. There is a change in the order of over 75%, the biggest in the history of the Seanad. That will bring its own challenges. I join the Cathaoirleach in paying tribute to the outgoing, retiring and defeated Members of the last Seanad for the immense work they did. I welcome a former Leader of the House, Mr. Donie Cassidy, a former Cathaoirleach, Mr. Rory Kiely, and former Senator Francis O’Brien to the House.

It is not a day for long speeches, but I wish to make two final remarks. I join the Cathaoirleach in paying tribute to our late friend Seán Ardagh and sympathising with the Ardagh family. I also extend my sympathy to Senator Grace O’Sullivan of the Green Party whose father, John, passed away after the election. I sympathise with her and her sister in Waterford, Councillor Lola O’Sullivan.

This is a day of celebration for all of us in the House. It is a day on which we acknowledge and embrace what is good about Irish politics, that is, that the Upper House can meet in such august settings, with the country and the world watching us. We are joined by people from across the world, which means that there is an international dimension to our work today, one which will continue, I am sure, under Senator Billy Lawless.

I thank the staff of the Seanad Office for their courtesy to all of us. I also thank the staff of the Houses for their support, particularly for the new Members. The work and courtesy of the staff of the Seanad Office and staff around the Houses belittle the criticism one hears of public servants. I thank them on my own behalf and that of the Cathaoirleach for their work and dedication to the new Members.

I wish the Cathaoirleach the best of luck. We all wish him well. I am sure he will have more difficulty with his own Members than with those us on this side of the House. We will work in collaboration. If we want to see new politics achieve anything, it will have to be about collaboration and what happens in the future. It must be about reform and redefining how politics is conducted. I look forward to working with all Members, particularly the Cathaoirleach. This is his day. He deserves the honour of being elected Cathaoirleach. He is a decent, honourable, good Corkman and I look forward to working with him.