Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, Acting Chairman. I will begin by welcoming everybody here, old colleagues and new. I congratulate Senator Norris on a very fine speech.

I propose that Seanad Éireann nominate my friend and comrade, Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, for the position of Cathaoirleach. Senator Ó Donnghaile hails from the working-class Short Strand district in east Belfast. He is a former councillor for that city and was elected as the youngest ever mayor of Belfast in 2011. He has distinguished himself as a superb public representative in the Seanad. He has worked tirelessly as a member of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality, the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, and the Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU. He is also a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.

Senator Ó Donnghaile is a passionate advocate for social justice, a Gaeilgeoir, a Connolly socialist, a true internationalist and, above all, a proud united Irelander. Having been mayor of Belfast, he has excellent experience of chairing a chamber with widely differing political perspectives, and doing so successfully. What better qualification could a person have for the role of Cathaoirleach of the Seanad? When one considers the disappointments of our new Taoiseach's failure to appoint a representative from the North, a huge omission, would it not send a powerful message of inclusion to appoint a proud Belfast man to this important role? Indeed, in a decade that has already seen a significant beginning of a conversation on finally ending partition and is likely to see a referendum on Irish unity before it ends, surely this is an opportunity to show that this forum can play a crucial role in encouraging that debate. What better signal could we send than endorsing Senator Ó Donnghaile, who has been a consistent champion of a greater voice for our Northern brothers and sisters, as our new Cathaoirleach? He has built good working relations with colleagues from all parties and none and will bring a vitality and an energy to the role of Cathaoirleach that could only enhance that office, and indeed the Seanad itself.

Finally, while the role of Cathaoirleach is not a partisan one, the process of appointing a Cathaoirleach clearly involves political choice. The decision to choose Senator Ó Donnghaile would send a powerful signal that this Chamber has heard the clarion call for change that rang so clearly in the February general election. As my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, pointed out on Saturday, it is important to remind ourselves that we have a choice. Every Senator here has a choice with this vote, and the record will show if they stand on the side of progressive politics or the side of more of the same.Before I finish I want to pay tribute to the outgoing Cathaoirleach, Senator Denis O'Donovan. I thank him for being a truly fair and impartial person in the Chair. He did the position absolutely proud.