Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join Senators in thank Tom Hickey for his work. I wish him the best in the next chapter in his life. The Ceannaire may be aware that the leadership elections for the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, took place this week. I commend all those who contested them, including Francie Gorman, the new president. In particular, I congratulate Alice Doyle, who is the first ever female deputy president elected to the IFA. I know Alice. She, her husband Tom and their family farm a beef and tillage farm at Balloughter, just outside Gorey. She is a formidable woman. She has been chair of the Wexford Mental Health Association and has been actively involved in education. She will be a breath of new life into the, dare I say it, male-dominated farm organisations we have in this country. The role of women in agriculture is critical. I congratulate everyone involved but I particularly congratulate Alice, given that she has taken on this leadership role. With others, I extend a happy Christmas and a thank you to Martin Groves and his team, all the team in Leinster House, all my colleagues in this Chamber, and our staff, families and those who are behind us and without whom we could not do this work.

I hope we appreciate how lucky we are in this country that we are at peace. We have talked about the suffering of so many in Gaza, on the West Bank, in Israel and in many other parts of the world. It is also worth remembering - and this is crucial at the European Council meeting today - the ongoing war in Ukraine. We know that over 10,000 civilians, innocent people, have been killed as a result of Putin's horrific war against the people of Ukraine, which he commenced in February 2022. I ask that in the new year we have statements on Ukraine so we can continue to express our solidarity with the people there.