Evanne Ní Chuilinn (Fine Gael)

I take this opportunity to congratulate Pico Lopes, who is originally from Crumlin. He plays centre back for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland, has played in the League of Ireland for a long number of years and, due to his father's patronage, is now playing for Cape Verde and will go to the World Cup, which we learned last week. It is an amazing opportunity. He is quoted in the Dublin Gazette today as saying he is the luckiest man in the world. He is; he is very lucky, but he also became a father on Friday afternoon. At 4.30 p.m. his partner, Leah O'Shaughnessy, who is a teacher in Tallaght, went in for a routine check and ended up having a little baby boy called Diego Lopes, so I congratulate the Lopes family.

I realised on my walk down to the local park run, which I do every Saturday, that I know Pico's mother very well but I did not know that Pico was her son. I was very embarrassed that I had not made that connection. Judy Lopes is a secretary in the Loreto junior school in Crumlin and she does great work. I stood on the picket line with her very recently and still did not know she was Pico's mother. Judy was looking forward on Saturday to getting little baby Diego back for Sunday dinner, so I hope that they did. I congratulate Crumlin's Pico Lopes, wish him the very best of luck at the World Cup, and, of course, welcome baby Diego to the family.