Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I thank my colleagues who, on our last day, on a Thursday, stayed the course to be here.

I appreciate that. It really represents teamwork, that is for sure.

I want to mention my constituency of Carlow–Kilkenny. For the past eight years, I have had the honour and privilege of representing that constituency. It has been a real honour. Sometimes, that word is overused and sounds a bit clichéd, but it genuinely has been. As a lot of people who know me well know, I never imagined that I would ever end up in this Chamber or the council chamber, and I certainly never imagined having the huge honour that lies ahead with regard to becoming a member of the European Parliament.

I also want to take a minute to thank everybody who has always been there, obviously, the people who support us and who go out and vote for us, everyone who gets involved with campaigns and our families and friends. In this role, as we all know, regardless of what party you are or if you are independent, you need a support structure in place, whether that is family or close friends or colleagues who surround us here. I want to take a minute to genuinely appreciate all their support and help throughout the last number of years, particularly over the last few weeks during that campaign and the last week in the count centre, which we all know felt like it was never going to end.

I also want to touch on some of the really important things in which I feel really privileged to have had a chance to play a role in this Chamber since being elected as a legislator. The one that always stands out for me is the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment. I will never forget being in the count centre in Kilkenny on 26 May 2018 when the results were announced. It is one of the greatest things I ever had the opportunity to be involved with in terms of rights for women with regard to women's health and reproductive rights. It was a really important step, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to be involved in that. At the time, I was the only TD in Carlow-Kilkenny who actually supported a "Yes" vote.

I also want to mention the area of disability, which has always been a huge passion of mine. In 2019, we passed a motion here unanimously, which I put forward, regarding setting up an autism committee. We saw that then come to fruition in this recent Dáil term. That has made huge inroads with regard to talking about us finally having an autism strategy, which is really important. There is much work still to be done in the area of disability and, of course, women's health. I would single those out as really important things for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed chairing the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It was a fantastic committee with really great members. Everyone worked really well together. I particularly think of all the survivors we dealt with in respect of the mother and baby institutions and how they appeared before us and told their stories, which was not an easy thing to do. It was during Covid as well, which made it extremely difficult for people. I want to mention them and, of course, the area of children and childcare. I had the honour of being involved in drafting our policy for Sinn Féin in that regard. Those are just some of the key moments for me, but there are loads when I look back on absolutely everything. There is still a huge amount of work in all of those sectors in terms of actually fulfilling and realising genuine and real rights for everybody, particularly in the disability sector. We are finally tackling crises we have seen in our housing sector and in healthcare and education. Of course, we have major issues in that regard.

On a European level, it is really important that we are very strong and that we have very strong MEPs who are willing to change some of the direction we have seen in the last number of years in Europe. Those issues I have just spoken about will be at the heart and focus of the work I am planning and hoping to do over the next number of years in Europe. We also know there are major issues within our agricultural sector and our fisheries communities, particularly for the Ireland South constituency. Next week, one of the most important things in our first week will be the opportunity to vote against Ms Ursula von der Leyen. I am glad to reiterate and put on record that I will be voting against her, as will my colleague, Senator Boylan.

I will leave it at that and again say a massive "Thank you". I also want to acknowledge everybody who works within the Oireachtas and all the staff, including the ushers, the catering staff - everybody. It is daunting and a little bit overwhelming when you first come in here. The staff in here are absolutely fantastic. Everyone involved in the committees and at all levels always go above and beyond for people and that should be acknowledged. I want to thank my colleagues and my family. I am very much looking forward to getting into the role next week and representing the full ten counties of Ireland South to the best of my ability.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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And so say all of us. Anois, Deputy Cowen wishes to speak.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his office for the opportunity to speak on the occasion of our resignations from Dáil Éireann. Thankfully, that decision is with the mutual agreement of the electorate of my Dáil constituency of Laois-Offaly and the wider European constituency of Midlands–North-West.

I want to take this opportunity to thank publicly all those who voted for me in the European election. Today brings an end to my 13-year tenure as a TD. It is now 55 years since my late father was first elected in 1969 to the constituency of Laois-Offaly. He was succeeded after his untimely death by my brother Brian in 1984. My father was a big act for Brian to follow. He, indeed, was a big act for me to follow. We all had our own individual styles and made our marks in different ways, but we shared the sense of honour and privilege it is for us all to represent our respective constituencies, in our case, that of Laois-Offaly. Our efforts on behalf of constituents were thankfully appreciated and we were always humbled to be re-elected on many occasions.

For my part, the quality and calibre of the work and service that was provided by me and my office as a TD was only possible because of the support, help and assistance I got from my wife, Mary, and my extended family. It was because of the constituency staff who were available to me and who worked on my behalf and that of the electorate in Tullamore, namely, Elaine and Danielle. It was also because of the closeness of the working relationship I had with my Fianna Fáil colleagues, predominantly in Offaly and also in Laois, past and present, and, of course, the wider Fianna Fáil organisation, my own cumann of Clara and the wider county of Offaly. I thank them all sincerely for the support, assistance and trust they gave and had in me and my candidacy on many occasions.

As I said earlier, I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office and my colleagues on all sides of the House and, as the previous speaker alluded to, the administrative staff, those who work in the respective committees and the ushers, porters and hospitality staff who all ensure that these buildings and this place of work are conducive to work being done well because of the atmosphere of camaraderie that exists among all mentioned.

I see my new role as an extension of this one, where I will pursue positive responses to the challenges that exist in, for example, food production and farming and agriculture. I will continue to pursue a pan-European project to deliver on the potential that exists on the west coast where offshore wind can respond not only to our energy needs but even those of Europe. I will seek to address some of the failings in the just transition programme that we have seen to date with regard to the processes and procedures. It was a process and provision and an allocation I championed at the time, but it has to better recognise, reward and support the midlands region especially, which has borne much of the initial and heavy lifting when it came and comes to the acceleration of decarbonisation.

I intend, too, to demand that the EU demands and delivers on the OECD commitments regarding the global corporate tax rate in respect especially of India, China and the US, thus protecting and enhancing the contribution made within this economy by foreign direct investment into this country, contributing handsomely, as we know, to present-day record job numbers and receipts, which, of course, predicates everything else this House and Government does with regard to the provision and the capacity to deliver the quality and quantity of public services.

I wish the Dáil well. I would advise anyone who feels the call to politics to pursue it. The privilege and honour that I and many of us feel as TDs is a feeling and an aspiration that is not as prevalent as we would like because many people fear the repercussions and abuse associated with public life today. We need to make it a safer and better regulated profession in order for future generations to make the contribution I know they can and would make. It is my opinion that the next patriots of our time will be those who can return politics to being seen as a safe profession, whether online or in respect of physical safety. I look forward to helping from Europe, insofar as I can, in that regard and to working with those representatives from within the vast constituency I will represent. As I said earlier, if I can do nothing else, I would like to encourage others to participate and engage in politics and to ensure younger generations will have the chances we have had to assure their future and that of those who come after them.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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A Chathaoirligh, Ministers, my fellow newly elected MEPs and, in particular, Noreen Kehoe from our office, who is watching from the Gallery, if you get the privilege of being elected to Dáil Éireann, you enter probably the most famous room in Ireland. When my Labour Party colleagues and I were elected to here in 2011, we were so conscious that every word we uttered in here would be recorded forever and that in generations to come, our descendants would be able to read what we said. It made every early intervention nerve-racking and I must admit to always rising to my feet in this Chamber with a sense of mild anxiety. As has been said, however, the Oireachtas staff have always made working here a proud and inspiring experience. If this is my last contribution that bookends my time here, I would like my daughters, Anna and Sadhbh, perhaps to read these words in time and be proud of them.

What is unique about this Chamber in Ireland is that you cannot cast a vote in here unless you have been elected directly by the people. You can be co-opted to a local authority, the Stormont Assembly or, indeed, the European Parliament, you can be appointed to the Seanad, but you can only sit and vote in this Chamber if you have been directly elected by the people. I thank my constituents in Dublin North-Central and Dublin Bay North for granting me this honour.

Thinking of my infant daughters reading these words in years to come makes me want to emphasise we can only ask of one another to trust our best and most generous of instincts. We must always, in politics and in life, invest in the humanity ingrained in one another's hearts and we must strive to care, to empower and, yes, to love. Politics must be always about improving people's lives, the sharing of ideas, the promise of a future and the recognition of that basic humanity that supersedes any difference that is emphasised by those less generous among us. The challenges we face are huge: climate breakdown, the waging of war, the commercialisation of division, the trumpeting of hate and the inequality that forces so many of our vulnerable citizens, especially children, into the shadows.

As President Higgins once said when explaining the Irish seanfhocail, "Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine", or the people live in one another's shadow. The word "scáth" can also mean "shelter". We must live in one another's shelter, not cast one another into shadows. We cannot allow shadows to emerge where cold, hunger and distrust can fester but provide shelter for family, for learning, for laughter and for love, house our people, engage their minds and set them free - freedom that a flag will never provide. That is why the European Union is so important, a Union that puts the narrowness of nationalism to one side and seeks to empower, to enhance and, yes, to shelter, a Union based on equality, freedom, dignity, workers' rights, common humanity and unity. We all come from somewhere, a family, a community. We are all raised by our own little village.

As I pack away the boxes from my Leinster House office, I cannot help but feel a flood of emotion as the cards, letters and mementos of past battles, campaigns and friendships re-emerge from the shelves. Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the passing my father, Seán Ó Ríordáin. My daughters are too young to have known him, but part of the healing process of loss is that a mirror is held up to your own life, your failings, the hurt you have caused and your worth. I can only thank those who, for the past 20 years in council, Dáil, Seanad and European elections, looked beyond those deficits of mine and saw in what I have tried to promote a value system, an ethic that is worth fighting for. I am very thankful to the people of Dublin for electing me as their MEP last month.

We can only strive to do better, to be more honest, to listen more, learn more, soften our hearts and open our minds. Politics and politicians must learn from the past but not be imprisoned by it. It is always about the future, about who needs the future most, and of that ancient, enduring, instinctive cry from within the heart of each of us, to dare to care. For me, this is the turning of a corner, not the end of a road. You cannot travel any journey worth travelling alone. We need one another more than we are willing to admit it. Mar is eol dúinn ar fad, ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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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.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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It would be remiss of me not to thank you all for your thoughtful contributions. I wish each and every one of you the best of luck. I suppose I do not need to say it but I remind you again that you represent the Irish people when you are in Brussels. We hope you keep them close in your future decisions, whatever they may be.