Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do solemnly declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability, execute the office of Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann without fear or favour, apply the rules as laid down by this House in an impartial and fair manner, maintain order and uphold the rights and privileges of Members in accordance with the Constitution and the Standing Orders of Seanad Éireann.

First and foremost, I thank the father of the House, Senator Wilson, for beginning this Seanad term. Senator Wilson has served with distinction in many roles and positions throughout his term of service in Seanad Éireann. He has taken on the very difficult role of Whip, which can be challenging at times and which will be more challenging in this Seanad than in most. He has also served as a party spokesperson on defence and championed the cause of the Defence Forces here and on public radio. I ask Members to recognise Senator Wilson for that long service and to give him a round of applause.

I also pay tribute to the former Senator, Deputy Buttimer, our former Cathaoirleach, who served with distinction in this House. As Senator Wilson pointed out, he has decided to go to the Lower House. We wish him all the best. When he served in this office, he served without fear or favour and in an impartial way, as everyone who has served in this role has. I propose to continue in that way. I thank my proposer, Senator O'Loughlin. Although we are on the same panel, we work well together. I also thank Senator Curley, one of our newest Members, for seconding the proposal. It is a true honour to work with all of the Members of Seanad Éireann and to listen to their ideas and proposals as to how we can work together to make this a better functioning part of our Parliament. If it were perfect, there would be no need for improvement but nothing in this world is perfect. The Members' ideas are important in that regard.

When the Minister, Deputy Foley, proposed Deputy Martin as Taoiseach in 2020, she opened by saying that to be from Kerry is a privilege and an awesome honour. That was a line from another Kerryman, John B. Keane, a man of letters and great words and wisdom. To be a Member of Seanad Éireann is also an awesome responsibility. It is a responsibility given to very few. We all know the challenges of getting here and of being involved in public life. People who serve in Seanad Éireann do not get here on anything other than their merits, hard work, dedication and relentless effort.The past 12 months have been some of the most extraordinary in human history. Of the world's population, some 3.7 billion people were entitled to vote. That is the most people ever entitled to vote in the history of humanity.

In 72 countries elections took place, with Ireland being one of them. We are one of the few countries, one of only 14 countries, that have been continuous democracies for the past 100 years. To be in that small group is truly important. To stay in that small group is always a challenge.

We should never take democracy for granted. We have seen democracies slip under the tide in the last ten years and we cannot assume that we will continue to be one just because we have always been one. We worry about our friends in other countries who are facing challenges in respect of their democracies. That is why in the last Seanad we held a public consultation on the future of local democracy, the key recommendation of which was the establishment of a task force on the future of local democracy to look at all the elements of our local government. Local democracy is the bedrock for national democracy. Many Senators have served in local government. That is how our democracy works. Our national government is based on our local government in many senses. We succeeded in getting the key recommendation that there would be a task force established by the Government in the programme for Government, and I look forward to working with Members in how the Seanad will play a role in that process over the next number of years.

Regarding the reforms we made in the last Seanad, we built bridges. We invited the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords to address us in Seanad Éireann. It was the first time ever the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords addressed these Houses, a historic bridge-building exercise. We also worked with our colleagues in Northern Ireland. The Speaker invited the American Irish State Legislators Caucus to Northern Ireland to see for themselves how the United States was responsible for not only making the peace process possible, but also its involvement, and its continued involvement, in ensuring the peace process continues. Edwin Poots hosted those Irish-American legislators and is working with them on how we as an island can build bridges to our cousins in the United States of America, across the 50 states. That is as important now as ever.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American War of Independence, in which the Irish played a key role. We look forward to celebrating with them that struggle for independence which reminds us all that while they were there for us during our peace process and during our struggle for independence, some 250 years ago it was the Irish that were there for the United States of America. Lord Mountjoy lamented in the British Parliament, “We have lost America to the Irish.”

In this role, many initiatives were brought forward in relation to the scrutiny of legislation. That is what we do; we are ultimately legislators. One of the committees we established in the last Seanad was the Seanad Select Committee on the Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments. Now, if that is not the most boring title for a committee in the history of humanity, I would be challenged to come up with a less exciting title. However, the work of that committee is important because up to that point, legislation that was coming from Europe was being added to by Government Departments. No TD, Senator or Oireachtas committee would see it before it was signed into law. Approximately 70% of our legislation every year is made in that manner. The Seanad committee is now responsible, and will continue to be responsible, for making sure members of the public, who are entitled to see what laws are being made on their behalf by their Government, know this legislation is seen by the legislators before it is signed into law.

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Senator Wilson has pointed out the many who have gone before us, who sat in this Chamber, and often championed unpopular causes. Mary Robinson, during Seanad 100, outlined how she sometimes could not even get a seconder for some of her proposals that we would take for granted today. Those voices, often minority voices, became majority voices over time. We obviously remember today our great friend and colleague, Senator Norris, who sat in this Chamber and championed the cause of minorities who had no other voice, and no possibility of another voice, in the Parliament.

I see Senator Higgins nodding her head, her father too championed many causes here. Of course, W. B. Yeats made many speeches here and Senator McDowell is an aficionado of his great comment that we are no petty people, and indeed we are not.We are here standing on the shoulders of giants and I will finish by expressing gratitude to my own family. My father is here today, my mother is watching online, and my sister Elaine and my brothers John and Conor are here today as well. I thank my campaign team of nieces and nephews: Cara, Caoimhe, Clionadh, Cillian, Ruairí, Yvonne, Lucy, Dylan and Seánie. They are a great campaign team although they are not too enthusiastic about stuffing envelopes sometimes. Without them I would not be here. Finally, I thank Grace Coyle, who is not here at all, my good friend and a great champion of all my campaigns. She will work with all present along with me to ensure we make this country a better place. That is simply our role. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir. I call the Leader of the House, Senator Kyne.