Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his election. My commiserations to Senators Wilson and Fitzpatrick, who also contested the position. It is not easy to put one's name forward for any election. Senator Wilson would have made a very fine Chair.

I am one of the five Cavan people in this Chamber. I am proud to be from there. Where one is from is really important in life. It forms us as the people we are. While I was born in Cavan, I was previously, before being elected as a Senator, elected in County Meath. There are some issues I would like to see finalised within this Seanad term. I thank, most importantly, the county councillors who put me back in this House. I worked hard for them over the past five years. I am in touch with them every single day. As many of the newly elected Senators will know, I send an email every night and keep the councillors informed. That is really important. As far as I am concerned, democracy starts on the ground. Grassroots politics is so important but it is underfunded and undersupported in this country. We need to reform it. We have seen the erosion of powers that happened under Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party in the past five years. I want to believe colleagues from the Government parties when they say they want to reform local government and give those powers back to councillors. I want to see them actively live out those words in the next five years.

I champion many issues in the House. Sometimes I am a lone voice. I am a controversial voice. It is not easy being that voice here. I have always championed issues like children in State care and those seeking aftercare from the State. I speak out about gender care for minors and the need for non-medicalised intervention for children under 18. I speak out about human trafficking and how we can stop it in this country. I speak out about mental health supports for our young people. This time around, I want to champion children and young adults with eating disorders. That issue is not supported in this country. I also want to look at some family-friendly taxation policies for young families. Senator Cathal Byrne spoke about childcare. We must look at how we can support families in this country through better taxation policies.

I extend my sympathies to the family of our dear friend, Councillor Anthony Waldron, from Ballintubber, County Roscommon, who will be buried on Thursday. His remains will be brought to the church tomorrow evening. Many councillors knew Anthony through the Suck Valley Way conferences he held in Roscommon in recent years. He was a fantastic local representative. He was about all things Roscommon. He had a great love for the promotion of tourism in his area. He will be greatly missed by many of his colleagues throughout Roscommon and throughout the country.

The power in these Houses must be decentralised. We need more power to be given to the regions. We always talk about the powers of these Houses but there is so much that happens throughout the country which we do not empower our local government and local representatives to address. Storm Éowyn really sent home that message. We need to look at regional government in this country for the first time ever. That is something this House can do. I look forward to working with each and every Senator in the coming years. I wish the Cathaoirleach the very best for the term ahead.