Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Taoiseach, Ministers, former Members and distinguished guests. Seanad Éireann in the past 100 years has seen remarkable displays of resilience, activism and passion from politicians across the divide. I am proud to be here as a representative of Ireland's oldest political party. As many have said, this House was founded in the shadow of a bitter civil war and my party sought to bring a different perspective to the national Parliament. In the shadow of a turbulent war, emerging from the First World War, an era of globalisation and the industrial revolution, my party sought to give a voice to workers. The Seanad was founded on the bases of equality, liberty and a belief that citizens and workers are entitled not just to bread but also to roses.

Both the Irish State and my party have had a rocky, up and down history. We have been represented very ably in the Upper House by people such as Roddy Connolly, son of James Connolly and of Pimlico. We have also been represented by people such as former Senators Ivana Bacik, Michael D. Higgins and Evelyn Owens. With the indulgence of the Cathaoirleach, I feel it is only right to honour the legacies of some of the Labour Party women who were trail-blazers when they came through the Seanad. Evelyn Owens was one of those people who came to the Seanad on behalf of the Labour Party, beginning her public life as an activist and participant in trade unions while working for Dublin Corporation. She was the first woman to take the role of president of the Irish local government's official union, which is now Fórsa, and was a member of the committee at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. When elected to the Seanad in 1969, she was a champion and trail-blazer for the rights of workers and women.

No history of the Seanad can be told without the story of Evelyn's colleague, also elected in 1969, Mary Robinson, our first woman President. She spent her time here advocating for the rights of women and minorities. She played a pivotal role in pushing for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the legalisation of divorce and contraception, the right to free legal aid and the right of women to sit on juries. In the shadow of a State now grappling with justice for the survivors of mother and baby homes, it is worth noting the work of Ms Robinson and former Senator John Horgan, who is with us today, for the rights of unmarried mothers in the 1970s, in what were cold political times for that kind of advocacy.

Mary Henry, although formerly an Independent for the Trinity panel, was a long-standing Labour Party member who advocated for medical rights and women's health from her election in 1993. She advocated to improve community care centres, psychiatric hospitals and mental health services, and was one of the voices for prisoners, along with Joe Costello, in the Seanad.

Succeeding Mary Henry was my colleague and current leader of the Labour Party, Ivana Bacik. Her legacy in the Seanad is marked by her commitment to social and criminal justice. She was a long-time advocate for abortion activists from her time in college and she was at the forefront in campaigning against female genital mutilation in the Seanad, where she was joined and ably assisted by vanguards on the Government benches such as Fiona O'Malley.

It has been important since the Seanad's inception that there was a space in the national debate to advocate for workers, women and minorities, and to honour the legacy of those who come before us. That tradition continues today across the Seanad Chamber in many different parties. There are advocates for climate justice, workers and social justice. The first Senator from the Travelling community, Senator Eileen Flynn, was appointed. Others such as Senator Higgins are legislators extraordinaire in interrogating Ministers.