Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We have all watched the events unfold in the US. While many of us hoped for a different result, and a recent poll by the Sunday Independent indicated that 76% of Irish people would have voted for Kamala Harris, democracy moves in mysterious ways so we have to respect the process and respect the result. People in the US have chosen Trump. They know what he represents and they have voted for him.

Of course we are on the cusp of our own election here in Ireland and we, too, have our fair share of scaremongers, doomsters and naysayers. We have people who claim we are a failed state, people who say that the country is on its knees so we need to rip it all up and start again. We can and we will do better because that is what Ireland does. Ireland builds on successes and learns from mistakes. We do this by being progressive, not regressive. We need to stay grounded and genuine, and not get caught up in the mire of lies and misinformation. A vote here in Ireland leaning into a vision similar to that sold by Trump would send us back to the 1980s, which was a conservative, dark and miserable Ireland that wallowed in its own misery, from which it was hard work to escape.

What makes Ireland great now is our caring and generous character, respect for others, diversity and our desire to do the right thing by nature for communities across this country and across the world. We do not always get it right but we can and will do better because that is what Ireland does. Those are the values we should hold on to as we move forward into this election, the result of which will see us through the second half of this decade of change. So let us stay positive and progressive, fair-minded and firm in our determination to stand up for our principles, people and the planet.