Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I suspect I will not speak tomorrow, so I want to take this opportunity to thank the Cathaoirleach and recognise the work that he has done over the past couple of years and recognise the incredible support of the permanent staff here - Mr. Martin Groves, Ms Bridget Doody and all of the people in the Seanad. I thank the Cathaoirleach for his patience and perseverance with me.

I want to raise something positive that is happening in Limerick in the Crescent Shopping Centre. A homeless emergency has gone on for a considerable number of years. Right now, the Crescent Shopping Centre has allowed Focus Ireland to open up a pop-up shop where shoppers who are busy getting their presents for Christmas can avail of a wrapping service and make contributions to Focus Ireland, which does incredible work in terms of homelessness and, in particular in Limerick, in terms of the 265 people in emergency accommodation. I was delighted to see one of the Limerick hurlers, namely, Aaron Gillane, a true hero, volunteer his services to that wrapping service and to promote it and show people that it is there. I want to do the same thing and highlight the fact that there is a pop-up shop for Focus Ireland in the Crescent Shopping Centre in Limerick. I encourage everyone when they are shopping locally to support that very useful and valuable service if they can.

Given the challenging year we have had, one of my highlights was seeing Bob Dylan live for the second time. It was a fantastic concert, as always. He is 81 years of age and played for one hour and three quarters without stopping. It was terrific. His favourite song of mine is called “Chimes of Freedom”. It is particularly pertinent to quote from it, given the plight of refugees and, indeed, the plight of so many homeless people this Christmas. He writes of the chimes of freedom flashing:

Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight

Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight

An’ for each an’ ev’ry underdog soldier in the night

An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Bob Dylan is still as relevant as ever in 2022. I wish everyone a happy Christmas.