Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is a great opportunity and the sign of a democracy that we can have the leader of our country come into the Seanad in order that Senators can ask him for things and say things. In most countries these days, democracy is suffering. When we look around the world, we see that one of the last bastions of democracy is freedom of speech, in some ways. Even my European friends are often amazed at how accessible our politicians are to each other and the general public. I appreciate that we still have that.

I will focus on one issue, namely, the climate action plan. As leader of the Green Party in the Seanad, I think somebody has to speak about it and there is no better person to do so than me.