Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I share in the congratulations to the elected Members to the European Parliament. I congratulate them and commiserate with those candidates who were unsuccessful on this occasion in both the European elections and the local authority elections. Our democracy depends on good people coming forward, putting their name on a ballot paper and contesting elections. Our democracy is indebted to every candidate who went forward. Success is not final and failure is not fatal. I am sure there are better days ahead for many of the very fine candidates who may not have been successful last week.

I draw the attention of the House to the fact that the nature restoration law was passed yesterday in Luxembourg. I welcome that news. I welcome it on foot of the support from the Fianna Fáil MEPs when it was going through the Parliament. This nature restoration law is an incredibly important policy from the European Union's perspective. It aims to provide a framework to all the member states to allow us protect and restore our nature - our rivers, parks, lands and urban areas. It is incredibly important that we invest today to ensure that future generations can enjoy a healthy and sustainable environment.

On that note, I congratulate the fifth year students, Ms Alecia Dibu and Ms Alison Koci, and their teachers, Ms Fiona Dockery and Ms Adrienne Healy, from St. Dominic's College in Cabra, who were part of the team representing Ireland at the prestigious NASA/NSS Ames Space Settlement Contest.The challenge was to design an off-world space settlement capable of sustaining a population of more than 10,000 people, while creating an Earth-like environment. The girls from Cabra did that, which was a great achievement. Alecia, Alison and their team called their project Danú, which is the name of the ancient Irish mythological figure who personifies nature, wisdom, strength and fertility. They designed a settlement that would not only provide a sustainable and safe place for humans to live, but which would also protect Earth from the enhanced greenhouse effect. I just want to give a big shout-out to those girls from Cabra. I am a graduate of St. Dominic's College in Cabra. I am very proud of that. While Cabra might seem like a very long way from the International Space Station, I can tell you that us people in Cabra can bridge those gaps. It is an incredible achievement for the girls to have represented our country and to have led the way in showing respect for our planet for future generations.