Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is a bit like being invited to speak at your own funeral here today. Usually, we talk about political careers after people have passed away. I am conscious I did manage to be late for this, which is possibly something I had never thought I could achieve, alive or dead. I thank the people of Clare for electing me to this House. I think everybody in this Chamber would say it is a unique honour to be elected. I would say it is a particular honour to represent Clare. When you walk around the corridors of this House, you see portraits of people who represented Clare before me with huge distinction. It is an honour that sits heavily on one's shoulders, and you are aware of the responsibilities you have, as every TD is.

Deputy Ó Ríordáin recalled first being elected in 2011. We were elected on the same day in 2011 - indeed, in the same party. I do not know which of us might like to forget that more. Sometimes I hope neither of us would, but there you go.

Deputy Ó Ríordáin said we all come from somewhere. My parents were elderly, but they had a belief in the State that may not exist as much now as it did among that generation. There was an older man in the house who stood in a line, at the age of 14, when this State was being founded, with nothing to offer but the sweat off his back. He had a ferocious belief in this State, a belief in the system of government and a belief it would make lives better, and maybe not just his life but the lives of those who came after him. That belief in a State is hugely important. I do not know that it really exists anymore, because that connection between the governed and those who govern them is fraying and we need to address it. People do not feel connected to a State. They question whether a Government exists for their benefit or whether it does not. I think, and I could be wrong in this, that we need to explain a lot more why Government decisions are made, how they are made and for whose benefit they are made. The Government will, of course, say they are always made for the betterment of the majority, but that is not always apparent to people. That does not mean the Government is wrong and that it is not making decisions for the betterment of the majority, but we do need to explain it.

To me, Parliament and the Dáil have always been about asking questions and having them answered. Parliament is about asking questions on behalf of people, not to be awkward but to ensure that the connection between the Government and the governed is maintained, people understand that decisions are being made for their benefit and Governments feel they have to explain to people why they are making decisions and how they benefit people.

Permanent government has a tendency to regard elected representatives as sometimes awkward because they are awkward. They have to be awkward because life is awkward and elected representatives, more than the permanent government, have to respond to that awkwardness. However, it is important that government is accountable and that interplay between elected representatives and the unelected government and people is vital to maintain because we know what happens when it is lost - ultimately, it is very difficult to recreate that confidence.

I began by thanking the people of Clare. It is a huge honour that they have bestowed upon me. I now thank the people of Ireland South who have bestowed a different and as great an honour upon me to represent Ireland South in the European Parliament, where, equally, there is a necessity to maintain that link and to explain decisions and have decision-makers explain them.

I thank Deputies Pa Daly and Pádraig O'Sullivan who, I presume, came here to support me today, as constituents. I thank them both very much for being here.

Lastly, I will pick up on what Deputy Cowen said about politics being a safe profession. That is hugely important, but what is also important is that people feel politics is a profession that they can aspire to. Sometimes I wonder. Inequalities, as both Deputies Funchion and Ó Ríordáin alluded to, are growing. I grew up in a part of east Clare at a particular time when there were not that many inequalities but everybody believed that the Republic was for them and that they could aspire to any position in the Republic, for example, they could aspire to run for election, join a profession and lead as full a life as possible. I wonder is that shrinking, not only in Clare but throughout the State. Are there more and more young people who do not think it is necessarily their State or that they could sit in its Parliament or its courts, represent people in its courts or do whatever it is they want to do because it is their Republic and their right to do so? If that belief is shrinking, we are failing as a Legislature and as a people.

Members often walk around this House. I had the pleasure to bring a young Ukrainian law student around earlier today. Hanging on these walls we see the portraits of those who made great sacrifices, people who died for what they believed in, but we have to question whether we are serving their legacy if we allow the proportion of the population who believe that they can be here and have a right to be here and a right to join and that they are a member of the political class and have a right to aspire to being elected here to shrink. If that space is shrinking, I suggest that we are failing. I hope I am wrong in that.

As I terminate my time here, I thank all Members for their patience and indulgence. I especially thank those who voted for me and those who voted at elections in which I participated, whether I was successful or not.

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