Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Nov 1999

Vol. 509 No. 6

Return to Writ: Dublin South-Central. Introduction of New Member.

The Clerk of the Dáil made the following announcement:

I gcomhlíonadh Bhuan-Ordú céad a seasca de na Buan-Orduithe i dtaobh Gnó Phoiblí, tá orm a chraoladh go ndearnadh, sa Chorrthoghchán a bhí ann an seachtú lá is fiche de Dheireadh Fómhair, míle naoi gcéad nócha a naoi, de chionn an Teachta Pádraig Upton d'fháil bháis, an comhalta seo a leanas a thoghadh don Dáil:–

In compliance with Standing Order 160 of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, I have to announce that at the by-election held on 27 October, 1999, consequent on the death of Deputy Pat Upton, the following member has been elected to the Dáil:–

Dáilcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath Theas-Lár

Constituency of Dublin South-Central–

Dr. Mary Upton

Tá Rolla na gComhaltaí sínithe ag an Teachta de réir Bhuan-Ordú a hAon.

The Deputy has signed the Roll of Members in accordance with Standing Order 1.

The Taoiseach

I welcome Deputy Mary Upton to this House. I congratulate her on her election and say to her "Well done after a long and difficult year for the Upton family". The campaign went extremely well for her and I hope she has an enjoyable and long service in this House. I also congratulate Deputy Quinn, Leader of the Labour Party and director of elections in the constituency and all the Labour Party members who worked so hard during the campaign.

There was a good deal of talk about the turnout, but as in the case of the opinion polls, regardless of whether the turnout was 30 per cent, 60 per cent or 90 per cent, proportionately these things work out the same at the end of the day and, regardless of the poll, Deputy Mary Upton would still be here today. Perhaps we have other issues to examine, but they do not have anything to do with her successful election.

Deputy Upton's brother was very well liked on all sides of this House and we all paid our tributes to him. She follows in his footsteps. He was a person of integrity and honour and he proved himself. I have no doubt she will do likewise. She takes on the difficult task of representing people in Dublin South-Central, but it is one she will relish.

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I thank our candidate, Michael Mulcahy. As a councillor and a former Senator, he worked very hard for us in that constituency. He ran a number of campaigns and he got 30 per cent of the vote. I thank him and Deputy Callely, the director of elections, and all those who worked hard on his campaign. Today is Deputy Upton's day and I wish her well and congratulate her.

Mr. J. Bruton

On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, I express sincere congratulations to Dr. Mary Upton on her election. It was a convincing victory. She is a distinguished woman, who, as a biochemist, will bring a new resource of knowledge to his House. She will follow the great reputation established in this House by her late brother. I miss him very much in the House, as I know many Members do. This is a sad day as well as a happy one for the Upton family, but I know Pat would be very proud to see his sister carrying on the distinguished democratic tradition he represented so well here in this House.

On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, I congratulate Deputy Mary Upton, and I know they are all very happy for her as well down in County Clare today.

Mr. Quinn

On behalf of my colleagues in the parliamentary Labour Party, now enlarged once again, I thank the Taoiseach and the Leader of the Fine Gael Party for their words of tribute to a successful campaign and to a new and stunning Member of this House. It is a moment of sadness because of the circumstances in which this by-election came about in the first instance. I acknowledge the presence in the House of the family of the late Dr. Pat Upton. They will take some solace in the realisation that his name and memory are being maintained by the successful election, albeit with the low turnout, as the Taoiseach said, of his sister, Dr. Mary Upton. All of us should take some solace from the fact that a person of her calibre with other career options and another life, so to speak, has chosen to participate in the rigours of electoral politics, rigours to which everybody in this House can relate and those of us with families can understand.

While this is a moment of triumph for the Labour Party, and we have had triumphs and defeats, which has been the experience in democracy of parties on all sides of the House, there is a worrisome implication in the low turnout that has affected all our parties and all our political activists who campaigned to try to persuade people to vote. This may not be the appropriate occasion for the Chair to respond to the suggestion – perhaps he will consider it at another time – that we should charge an existing all-party committee to examine ways in which we could make it easier for people to get on to the electoral register and, irrespective of what their choice happens to be, to exercise their franchise and understand what that means. Having regard to the survey produced by the National Youth Council and the comments made by a number of people, it is perhaps time for us, collectively and without in any sense being partisan, to examine how people get on the electoral register in the first instance and how they are facilitated in knowing where, when and how to vote. We take that for granted, but quite a number of people to whom I spoke said they did not know how to vote. It was not a case that they did not know who they wanted to vote for but because they were not sure how to vote they chose not to exercise their option to vote. I do not want that set of observations to cloud or obscure what is for us, in the Labour Party, a very happy day.

I am immensely proud of the calibre of the newest member of the parliamentary party, who in her own right – she started last night on "Questions and Answers"– will make a significant and qualitatively superb contribution to the proceedings of this House.

The Tánaiste

I join the Taoiseach, the Leader of Fine Gael and the Leader of the Labour Party in welcoming Deputy Mary Upton to this House. She fills the seat vacated by the untimely death of her brother, Pat. Pat Upton and I did not always agree, but we had a good deal of respect for each other. He was genuinely respected right across this House and he is sadly missed.

Deputy Upton's election helps to improve the gender balance in this House, which I welcome. It is good to see five females sitting together behind Deputy Quinn.

Mr. Quinn

And they are right behind me.

The Tánaiste

As others said, Deputy Upton brings with her enormous expertise and her contribution will add greatly to the legislative process in this House. We are fortunate that people like her will put their names forward for the democratic process at a time when politics is being heavily criticised in so many quarters.

I do not want to dismiss any good ideas put forward by Deputy Quinn. I agree we must examine how we can make it easier to facilitiate more people to vote, but a certain complacency has set in at this time of great prosperity. Some people have become so selfish that they could not be bothered voting and that has wider implications.

Notwithstanding many of the difficulties that have emerged, politics has achieved an enormous amount here this century. We need only look to places that do not have democratic political structures in place to know what happens. We ignore the democratic political process at our peril. We need to examine this issue on an all-party basis because it is deeply worrying that fewer than three out of every ten voters entitled to vote last week bothered to cast their votes.

I wish Deputy Upton every success. I hope she has as long a career in the House as she wishes. She is in a very competitive constituency in Dublin South-Central, which is the case in most constituencies. That constituency is especially competitive, but I have no doubt she is well able for the competition that is ahead of her, as she showed last week.

Mr. Sargent

Go raibh maith as ucht deis a thabhairt dom comhgháirdeas a ghabháil ar son an Chomhaontais Ghlais leis an Teachta Upton as an mbua iontach a bhain sí amach sa bhfothoghchán. Bhí an-mheas agamsa agus ag an Teachta Gormley ar dheartháir an Teachta Upton. Mothaimid uainn é. Bhí áthas orm buaileadh leis an Teachta Upton san ionad siopadóireachta i gCroimghlinn agus le cúnamh Dé beidh seans againn cúrsaí a phlé. Tá's agam gur saineolaí í ar chúrsaí bídh agus beidh an-chuid rudaí go bhfuil suim againn iontu gur mhaith linn a phlé léi chomh mait.

Ba mhaith liom comhgháirdeas a ghabháil chomh maith leis an iarrthóir ón Chomhaontas Glas, John Goodwillie as an méid a dhein seisean sa bhfothoghchán. Bhí an-díomá air, ní toisc gur chaill sé ach de bharr a laghad daoine a chaith vóta an uair seo. Tá roinnt moltaí againn i dtaobh na ceiste se. Molaim go mbeadh seans againn sa Teach an cheist sin a phlé agus moltaí a chur le chéile roimh an chéad uair eile.