Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is great to see Senator Ahearn in the Chair today. I hope he will be in that chair in the next Seanad as well.

I will start by thanking Martin Groves and all the staff in the Seanad office and all the staff in the Oireachtas, in the Bills Office and research office, the ushers and all those who look after us daily in the restaurant and in these Houses in general. I also thank my colleagues, our leader, Senator Boyhan, Senators McDowell, Craughwell and Clonan, my staff here, Gráinne, Sarah and Robert, and Caroline and Vani in my office in Duleek. It is a massive privilege to be elected to these Houses. I thank my colleagues and nominators in local government for giving me this enormous opportunity.

As we look ahead towards another election, I trust the electorate will make the right decisions on 29 November. They listened to a few of us in March of this year when a few Independent Senators guided and empowered the electorate to know the truth about the questions laid before them. I ask them to trust us again. I fear what another Dáil term would be like with the existing three-party coalition. It has never been more important to vote and the stakes could not be higher than they are in this election.

During this Government's term, we have failed in many ways, including the Covid-19 pandemic when we allowed our elderly to die alone. We failed to secure our borders and this has resulted in almost 350,000 additional people in our country seeking Ukrainian protection, international protection, work permits and short-term or long-term educational visas. Where did the Government think it would house them? Let us not talk about the 5,000 more people who are homeless under this Government. Our hospitals are at capacity. We educate our best and we cannot keep them here. We have failed the most vulnerable, our children with scoliosis and children with disabilities. We have failed to keep people safe in our communities and in our businesses. We have failed to recruit enough gardaí or to provide a prison service to ensure crime does not pay. We are working harder and spending more just to live. Work-life balance rarely exists for many.

However, the Irish are resilient. We proved that after the Celtic Tiger crash. We withstand a lot and this Government has let us all down. Look at our children in the Public Gallery today. They are whom we need to be looking at. They are our future. We can do better and deliver a better Ireland. We ask people to vote for pragmatic, courageous Independent candidates with a proven track record in local government. Independents can shake it up; we have proved that in this House. I ask the electorate to vote Independent this time.