Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also congratulate him on the development of community banking, which is ongoing. We have had many discussions in here about the importance of a post office in locales, villages, towns and regions in Ireland. I consider the post office to be a place of communication, resource, connection and engagement for people in cities as well as in country towns. His success proves that he was a very good choice. He has done a great job and will continue to do so. He has also begun to control the impasse between An Post and the Postmasters General of Ireland.

Senator Norris is a man of artistry and is a renaissance man. Therefore, he should know that artistry and portrait painting is, of itself, unique. The portrait of the women parliamentarians is a quite beautiful thing because it has brought all of them together. Maybe some of the images are not what we might have liked. What he has said is a bit of an insult to the women who, in the Dáil and Seanad, work collectively and individually for the good and the betterment of Irish society. He likened the portrait to looking at a pond of tadpoles. He was not looking at tadpoles; he was looking at an artist's hand at work. He was looking at great faces, endeavour and energy. He was looking at people from all walks of life who represent something in here. His comment was disingenuous, which surprised me because he is a man of artistic endeavour and one whom I consider to have a cultural heartbeat.