Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank former Senator and former President, Mary Robinson. It is a pleasure and honour to have her here, although at times it may have felt like she was the Leader of the House taking the Order of Business.

I welcome the former President back to the House and thank her for raising such important issues in her address. We are all so proud that her values and voice still represent us on the international stage. She has lived a life of advocacy from her involvement in the campaign to legalise contraception and divorce to enabling women to sit on juries, the decriminalisation of homosexuality and reproductive rights. The Ireland we live in today was one that she shaped, often in this very Chamber. She has always stood up not for what is popular but what is right. When I read about her time in this Chamber, it is striking how she gave prominence to people who did not have a public voice at the time. We are still very lucky to have people of her calibre in this Chamber. In particular, I mention Eileen Flynn, the first member of the Traveller community in the Oireachtas, and Lynn Ruane who has taken up Mrs. Robinson’s work on prisoner rights through her position here representing Trinity College.

As we sit here today, we are beneficiaries of Mrs. Robinson's role in the peace process at home, and her commitment to healing old wounds and leading the charge towards a closer relationship with our neighbours in the United Kingdom. She lay the groundwork for the decades long peace which has persisted on our island. That voice for peace is so important today, especially in relation to the war and displacement we see around the world, in particular in Palestine.

Mrs. Robinson has been a voice for the voiceless. That is nowhere more evident than now as she continues to speak up for the people in Gaza who face brutal bombardment, targeting of key infrastructure, blockading of humanitarian supplies and the deliberate targeting of children, hospitals and schools. This is in direct contravention of the international law which Mrs. Robinson championed as a lawyer. We were proud to see the recognition of Palestine in the Dáil in recent weeks but, as a nation, we are still to take concrete action by passing the Occupied Territories Bill as well as the arms embargo Bill. We would welcome Mrs. Robinson’s advocacy to influence this.

To return to the main theme of the address, climate change is one of the pressing challenges of our time. As Senator Garvey said, we are seeing a push-back from conservative forces on climate. Disinformation and the demonisation of people who seek to mainstream climate in our politics have come to the fore in the European Parliament elections at the weekend and we have seen a striking backlash against the jump that we made in 2019. As a social democrat, I do not see climate simply as an ecology issue but as one of social justice and human rights. It is an issue of rights and quality of life. It is one that requires global action to solve but, unfortunately, has a disproportionate impact on the world’s poorest. Every day, we see the increasing unpredictability of weather, the impacts of floods and drought and the famine and displacement that result from extreme weather conditions. Climate is also an issue of refugee rights. Now more than ever, with the voices of intolerance in Europe and Ireland, we need people who are able to counteract that. We are so thankful for the work Mrs. Robinson has done in raising this issue, not only in her interest but in the interest of future generations.

As President, Mrs. Robinson made our nation proud as a wonderful representative of a new progressive Ireland facing into a new century with hope for the future. Now, as chair of the Elders, she has brought that attitude and strength to a new level as a voice not only for Ireland but for people around the world and those facing famine, war and the lived impact of climate change.