Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I pass on my sympathies and deep condolences on the very sad news of the loss of Vicky Phelan.

Last week, we saw the mid-term elections in the US and a groundswell of support for candidates who stood up for the democratic and electoral process. They stood up for women's choice. One of those candidates has ancestral links with my home town of Ballinasloe - Béal Átha na Sluaighe. I congratulate Governor Maura Healey from the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to hold the position of governor in Massachusetts and one of the first openly gay candidates to run for and be elected to office. Governor Healey is changing the status quo. She is a woman who drives change. She has been the state's attorney general since 2014. She brought forward so many lawsuits against the previous administration challenging the Muslim travel ban, protecting immigrant rights and challenging the rolling back of environmental regulations.

Maura Tracy Healey grew in New Hampshire. She is a former professional basketball player turned civil rights lawyer. Her grandmother, Katherine Tracey, who was born in 1897, which is 125 years ago, to Michael Tracey and Mary Hogarty, was a native of Ballinasloe. Governor Healey's paternal grandparents hail from County Kerry and Macroom in County Cork. This election was unique in that it showed the highest number of young people in two or three decades vote and vote for rights for women as well. The new governor said afterwards, "to every little girl out there, we want you to know - there's no ceiling you can't break." From a Senator from Ballinasloe to a governor of the state of Massachusetts whose grandmother came from Ballinasloe, I ask the Leader of the House to invite Governor Healey to visit Ireland and address Seanad Éireann.