Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for that advice. Certainly, however, what I found most about Senator Buttimer was that as passionate and committed to the role of Leader as he was, that did not always put him against us in Sinn Féin or members of other parties. It sometimes put him up against members of his own party, so he treated us all equally in that role. I know he will bring, hopefully, that spirit of equality of treatment to the role of Leas-Chathaoirleach, should he get it, in the same way as he did as the last Leader.

Hopefully, he will just be a wee bit more suaimhnitheach. I am sure he will be and I think he is ready for that now, if he gets the role. He needs to be a wee bit more pacifying and take a leaf from the Cathaoirleach's book. Whatever role he takes on, I know Senator Buttimer will bring a great deal of passion, commitment and authority to it. As a good Fine Gael party man, he knows we will work courteously and collaboratively with whomsoever takes on the role to ensure this Seanad works in the best possible way.

The purpose of my proposed motion, however, will not surprise the Chair or any other Members. I thought Senator Gavan put this well last week when he said that the positions of Cathaoirleach and Leas-Chathaoirleach are not partisan and nor should they be. They are not political and nor should they be. We have the opportunity, however, as political beings, political activists and political representatives to ensure we have political choice regarding the type of Seanad we want composed.As Senator O'Reilly rightly said, the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach, given what goes along with it, is nothing to be sneered at. It is an important one. I refer to the composition of this Seanad in terms of the important positions afforded to Members. If we are serious about diversity, and we have talked a lot about diversity and the Seanad being representative of diversity, that should really include political diversity. That should include the realpolitik out there. It has been my experience in the Seanad that when we put our minds to it, when we put effort into it and when we bring our ingenuity to it, we can work very well together. We should not be afraid of affording each other political respect and opportunity where it presents itself.

I nominate Senator Warfield for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. He was a steadfast presence in the last Seanad. He is someone who has brought imagination and creativity and maybe that is due to his background in the arts. He has always brought an enthusiasm to his work in the Seanad, whether that was seeking to reduce the voting age to 16, seeking to give transgender people the right to self-identify at 16, working on committees or bringing really important legislative opportunities to the institution. He did it with a great spirit of co-operation. Sometimes we, his party colleagues, would say "God, you are getting an awful lot of support" and ask "Where are you getting it from?". That is because of the character of Senator Warfield. Much like what has been said about Senator Buttimer, Senator Warfield would bring a collaborative spirit to the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. He is the other former mayor among the Sinn Féin group. While sometimes he has been held up as the youthful representative in this Chamber he is not new to political activism, to political work and to political graft, so he can go toe-to-toe with many in this Chamber as far as experience and background are concerned.

In wishing Senator Buttimer well, and in nominating Senator Warfield, it is a reminder to us that we are very lucky that we have two Senators of their calibre going forward for this very esteemed position. I hope we will have the day but regardless of who ends up in that seat alongside the Cathaoirleach, we will work in the very best interests of advancing political change and progress in this Chamber. We wish both candidates well.