Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I am very proud to be here today. I am very proud to be, I believe, the sole representative of Roscommon in the Chamber. I want to acknowledge the Trojan work of two former Senators, namely Eugene Murphy and Aisling Dolan, in the House in the past term. I would like to acknowledge my family, my wife Nicola and my daughters Kate and Abbie, who accompanied me yesterday and turned the Seanad office upside down, with Martin's help. I did not bring them with me today to avoid a repeat of that. I would also like to acknowledge the support of my mother and father, Liam and Madeline Scahill, and my wider family in Roscommon and the Ballaghaderreen area in north Roscommon.

This day last week, I, like 2,200 other households in Roscommon, was still without power following storm damage. It was a very stressful time for a lot of families, but the work done by councillors on the ground was immense. The communication they provided to constituents must be commended and acknowledged. The reaction of the local authority, Uisce Éireann and ESB staff must also be acknowledged in the Chamber. We attended an event this morning for the rebranding of the LEADER companies to a community network. A lot of organisations in the social inclusion and community activism programme, SICAP, put their shoulder to the wheel in the past couple of days and weeks and supported rural communities that were badly affected by the storm at a time when they needed support. They all need to be acknowledged for that.

My journey as a politician is not that long of a story. My journey as a community activist, however, is a lot longer of a story. I have been an advocate for rural Ireland and its development, and have shouted about what we have in rural Ireland, for quite a number of years. Senator Rabbitte is beside me. During Covid, she came to see how we were doing outdoor bingo in Castlerea. We were reacting to conditions at the time and wanted to get people outside. It was great to get acknowledgement for things like that. Our club, and the people and volunteers of rural Ireland, came out and put their shoulders to the wheel, like we have always done when we have been called upon to do so.

Since I was elected to the council on 7 June, a mentor, friend and former Senator and Deputy, John O'Mahony, passed away. He was a great supporter of me and Senator Duffy. He would be very proud to see the two of us in this House today. I also come from a local authority that started on 7 June with 18 members. By the end of September, we lost Councillor John Naughten, a close friend and colleague and somebody I looked to for advice and support. I believe he would be sitting in this House today had he lived.

As other Senators have mentioned, my celebrations of being appointed to the Seanad were short lived because a colleague and friend, Councillor Anthony Waldron, passed away last Sunday morning in Roscommon. His funeral is later this week. It would be remiss of me, on a day like today, not to acknowledge the impact that an independent councillor like Councillor Anthony Waldron had on Ballintubber, west Roscommon, Roscommon and rural Ireland as a whole. The Suck Valley Way conference was mentioned, with which I was involved. I worked with Anthony on it for the past two years. In the first year, we focused on rural potential, including tourism and, in particular, the economic potential of rural Ireland. That is what led us to the conference. There is immense rural potential in our walkways. It will not cost a lot of money to have an impact on communities and large numbers of people throughout the vein of Ireland. That will be something I will promote in memory of Councillor Anthony Waldron.

As well as that, Anthony was a great man for social inclusion and tackling isolation. He started a programme about 18 months ago to reinvigorate the rambling houses. The project encouraged traditional dancing and storytelling and the art of conversation, and attempted to re-engage people following Covid. Social inclusion was mentioned by community networks today and has been mentioned in the House. It does not have an urban-rural divide; it is something that affects us all and something I hope I can work on with people in the Chamber on addressing during the term of this House.

I am immensely honoured and proud to represent Roscommon. In this House, our constituency is the whole country. We are all wearing the very same colours. I had just gotten used to calling Senator Brady a councillor and now I have to answer to something different. I am getting used to that. I am immensely proud and I look forward to working with everybody. What Anthony Waldron believed was that if you can leave something in a better way than you found it, then you have achieved what you were trying to achieve. I believe Councillor Waldron's legacy is the multitude of volunteers across Roscommon and across the country who have taken up the mantle to follow his example. I would like to acknowledge that to the House.