Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, exactly, with other representatives at the time. I was thinking about how to capture a sense of what an extraordinary honour it has been to serve in the Seanad alongside Senator Norris. I thought of the legacy and the extraordinary heritage work he has done, along with the work he has done in dragging and pushing Ireland to be a more just, equal and modern place that reflects more of its citizens and deserves its citizens.

He is also a champion of what Joyce called the endless present. There is a line in Ulysses, "Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.” That, in a way, is what being in the Seanad Chamber is like. We are in the present moment and we need to be very present. We try to honour, learn from and draw from the past and, at the same time, build possibilities and hopes and construct legislation we think will shape the future, and we are in that in-between moment. The reference to holding to the now and the here is partly about being open to the absurdities and the humour of the moment, and that is something Senator Norris has always done. Part of it is about responding to the urgencies of the exact moment we are in.

We saw this today in Senator Norris's contribution on the Order of Business when he spoke to the urgencies of now and the urgency of the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, that is, not a conditional, partial or down-the-line ceasefire but an immediate one. He spoke also to the importance of the referendums that will be fought now, in the present, but that will need to draw on our learning from the past and will, we hope, shape a better future. This is part of what it is to be in the here and now, and part of being in the here and now is also, of course, about knowing we exist in a shared world. That is why I think the establishment of that foreign affairs committee, and his consistent work for international human rights as an internationalist, have been extraordinary and have set a tone for this Chamber in engaging in that way.

I acknowledge also that Senator Norris was a champion of the Seanad when others made a short-sighted proposal to abolish the House, and he is a champion also of it doing more. His long-standing work, which we must continue, on Standing Order 41 will not be forgotten and we will continue to strengthen our scrutiny of legislation. His impact extends far beyond the confines of this Chamber. He is a source of inspiration, hope and solidarity to many in Irish society and throughout the world, and I thank him very much for all he has done and will continue to do.