Rose Conway-Walsh Reflects on Seanad Service and Legislative Wins
Senator Rose Conway-Walsh delivered a valedictory speech in the Seanad on 21 January 2020, thanking colleagues and reflecting on her priorities and legislative achievements. She emphasized her focus on rural Ireland, highlighted the domestic violence bill addressing coercive control and the insurance contracts bill, and urged greater voter participation and Seanad reform.
Acknowledgments in the Seanad
She thanked the Cathaoirleach for presiding over the House since 2016, acknowledged the previous Cathaoirleach and the staff, and paid tribute to colleagues across the chamber for working together respectfully despite differences. She also thanked her Sinn Féin team in the Seanad and the parliamentary staff and ushers for their support.
Legislative achievements
She highlighted two pieces of legislation as sources of greatest satisfaction: the domestic violence bill, especially provisions on coercive control, and the insurance contracts bill which she led through the Seanad. She credited collaboration with Women's Aid, Safe Ireland and Minister Stanton in advancing protections for victims and noted the insurance bill's role in putting money back into people’s pockets amid an insurance crisis.
Rural focus and constituency work
She said she sought to make the House count for ordinary, decent people, with a particular focus on rural Ireland, and explained she had remained in the chamber out of respect for the institution even during the election campaign in Mayo. She urged that rural issues be kept front and centre in Seanad work.
Northern representation and diaspora engagement
She praised the contributions of senators from the North for bringing diverse community perspectives to the Seanad and acknowledged the work of a senator focused on the diaspora, stressing that Irish citizens abroad should have their issues raised in the House.
Voting and Seanad reform
She urged people to vote, warning that non-participation yields the representatives people deserve, and called for practical changes to make voting easier - criticising current requirements to visit council offices or Garda stations as barriers. She expressed hope that Seanad reform would be pursued in the future to improve accessibility and engagement.
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Agar maagath, Cathaoirleach, I suppose I do hope this may be my last contribution to the Seannad, I want to thank you firstly, Cathaoirleach, I know you'll miss me, this is where all the intellectual debates happen, Cathaoirleach, I want to thank you, I want to thank you for the manner in which you have presided as Cathaoirleach since I came in here in 2016 and acknowledge how you have run this house, I think you have run it in an exemplary way, I also want to say Miele Wilkes to the last Cathaoirleach, Paul Coughlan, and it's not just because my mother is from Kerry, I'm saying thanks to him, but his kindness and his direction and everything else, I think absolutely needs to be acknowledged on a day like today and on many other days when we had tough days here and I will always remember Senator Coughlan when Martin McGuinness passed away and it will stay with me all my life, the kindness that you showed to us over that period. I want to thank all of the Seannadory because I think no matter what persuasion you come from or what, you know, we all have different ideas about things, but I think we have all worked together in a manner, in a respectful manner, we don't always have to agree on everything, in fact, sometimes you get the best results when people don't agree on things. I even found myself on occasion agreeing with Senator Michael McDoole, and that really worried me, but I've got over it. That's true. I want to thank Martin and Bridget and all of the team here for the contributions they make and for the way that they do their business as well, and the ushers, and everybody involved with the Seannad. I want to thank the leader in his absence, Senator Bottomer and Orla as well, again for the fair manner in which they run things here. We've had many a spat, but we've never fell out, not so far anyway. I want to thank my team. The pleasure that I've had of leading the Sinn Féin team in the Seannad, and the diversity amongst the group and the consensus and the debates and everything else. It really has been a pleasure, and I really want to acknowledge that. Thank you. It's the easiest team I've ever led in my working life, I would say. I want to say as well, in terms of Senator Niall O'Donnell, how important it is to have the voice from the North, and together with Senator Marshall, having the voice from all communities in the North, I think is something that must be brought forward in this Seannad, and it should be, because I think it has added a richness to the House in terms of educating us, and in having an all-inclusive society and shaping the type of island that we all want to live in. And with that as well, I want to acknowledge Senator Lawless in terms of the work that he has done with the diaspora. Again, because Irish citizens are Irish citizens, and it doesn't matter if they live north, south, east or west, or in Chicago, or anywhere else in the world. I think it's important that we bring their issues to this House, and I think in particular, the three of those Senators have both voices of citizens here that's very necessary for us to do our work. Notwithstanding the fact that we didn't get to do the Seannad reform that we wanted to do, and I would hope to see that continued again. I know my colleagues will talk a bit about that. But it has been a privilege and an honour for me to serve in this House. I have sought to make this House count for the ordinary decent people, particularly for those living in rural Ireland. And I have sought at all times to put rural Ireland front and centre of Seannad there, and I hope I have done that in some small way, because rural Ireland does matter. The two major things, I suppose, for me, or the two things I've got most satisfaction out of, was the domestic violence bill that we all worked together on, particularly the Seannadory and the women on my right. And I'm not going to name you, because you know who you are, because I'll definitely leave somebody out. But I think that that was a really good achievement, and I see it playing out on the ground, particularly in terms of coercive control, it matters. It makes a difference, and it has made a difference, and it will continue to make a difference once the resources are there to underpin the legislation that we brought through. And obviously, I want to acknowledge Minister Stanton as well, in terms of working with us, and Women's Aid, and all of the other organisations in Safe Ireland. And the other major piece of legislation, I suppose, that we brought through here, that came through the Dáil, and then through here, was the insurance contracts bill that I led through here. And I think, again, that's very important in putting money back into people's pockets and addressing the absolute crisis we have in insurance. I want to wish all candidates well from all parties. I know what it's like to be a candidate in this election, obviously, and how tough it is. I made a point of being here today out of respect for the House. I know I could be knocking on doors in Mayo, but I know that Mayo people will understand that this House forms part of their issues as well. And there's... Not yet, not yet, Ronan. And I would just leave you in terms of, I suppose, the importance of people voting, however they decide to vote. But if you... Somebody said to me at lunchtime, Geraldine, actually, I want to acknowledge her. But if you vote, you get the people, you get the representatives that you want. And if you don't vote, you get the representatives you deserve. I think it's awfully important for people to vote. And I would like to see this House in the future, looking at how we can make it easier for people to vote. For heaven's sake, we're asking people to go to the council office, to go to the Garda station, to come back to the council office. It just doesn't work. So that maybe is one piece that we could... Or that whoever is here could work together to make that happen so that we don't go through another election where we're making people jump through hoops to vote. But I would encourage everybody to come out. So, gore māthagat. Gore māthagat. Fine. Fine.
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