Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate my new colleague, Senator Bradley. I am delighted to see her here. I also congratulate her family. It is an honour to walk into the Chamber and an honour to walk in the front door of Leinster House every day. We are here to serve the people. As Senator Seery Kearney said, numerous Senators bring a lived experience and that is what we need on the floor of the House. It is how we can drive change. Every day I come in the door and look at the Proclamation, which is on the left-hand side as we come in. It speaks about the people of 1916 wanting to treat every child of the nation equally. We could honestly say in 2024 we have not done this, particularly with regard to children and people with needs and disabilities. As has been said, a renewed focus has been put on this by the Taoiseach. We have a Cabinet subcommittee focused on disabilities. The appointment of Senator Bradley is a pivotal moment for the State, whereby we will make big changes and provide supports to make sure every child in the nation is treated equally and, in particular, that every child has an opportunity to be their very best and get the same chance in life. I welcome Senator Bradley and I look forward to working with her to make sure we make these changes, which we will.

Longford was one of the trial counties for community safety partnerships. It was extremely successful. Public representatives who put themselves forward to be the chairperson of a committee and are the right person for the job should be put in the role. There should be no impediment to that. I fully support it and it should be the case. I see the roles have been advertised and I support public representatives taking up the roles.