I will commence today's formal business with statements to be made on the resumption of sittings in the Seanad Chamber. Senators will recall from the Order of the House last week that each group are entitled to have one speaker, who has two minutes, and the Leas-Chathaoirleach will then conclude the statements.
I have the honour today, as Cathaoirleach, to preside over this special and unique occasion in the history of our Parliament on the first sitting to take place in the refurbished Seanad Chamber. In honour of this occasion it gives me great pleasure to welcome to this sitting my colleagues, former distinguished Cathaoirligh, former Leaders of this House and distinguished friends. We have waited a long time for this day. It is over two and a half years since the Seanad sat in this Chamber. Even in the year before that, in 1985, we had to put up with scaffolding and temporary ceilings while the extent of the work to be carried out was investigated. In praising the Members for their patience in carrying on the sittings in the cramped temporary accommodation, I want to pay a special tribute to my colleagues on the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, who were of enormous support to me in communicating with the Office of Public Works officials and generally overseeing the whole project with them.
I would like now to turn to the restoration work itself. This entire project has required the exercise of skills of the highest order by everybody involved — management, architects, engineers, surveyors and craftspersons. Surely the highlight of this work is the ceiling. The restoration of the magnificent 18th century decorative ceiling, designed by James Watt, was carried out by a team from the Office of Public Works.
This work on the ceiling was carried out by a specialised team of craftsmen and we are indeed fortunate to have in the Office of Public Works the services of such a skilled person in this highly specialised field as Mr. Val Ryan, who is acknowledged as one of the country's leading experts. A team of plasterers, with Mr. Ryan, are now available to maintain the many fine ceilings and, indeed, other works in the public domain. Thus these specialised skills will be carried on to the next generation of craftspersons and will benefit the State for generations to come.
The number of people involved in the restoration work, for which we are all so grateful, are too many to mention individually. However, I hope I will not offend anyone if I pay a special tribute to some. Everybody in this Chamber is well aware that I am on dangerous ground now, because if you single out people you leave out others.
First of all, I would like to pay tribute to the Chairman of the Office of Public Works, John Mahoney, the architect, Jeffrey Johnston, Tom Sherlock, the project co-ordinator, and his colleague, Michael Fennelly and, last but by no means least, the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Treacy, who put up with all our complaints, when we were in the temporary Chamber, about lighting, ventilation and everything else. More importantly, he had the political will to push through the job to its successful completion.
The restoration project was carried out while both Houses of the Oireachtas remained in session in the building. As I have said already, the Seanad sat in the ante-room which was especially converted right next door to the work in progress. Notwithstanding this, and the fact that the work was at times both noisy and dusty, there were no disruptions of the contract programme. This reflects great credit on the Members and the staff of both Houses of the Oireachtas, but especially of the Seanad, who patiently tolerated the inconvenience, as did the Dáil Members who had to do without all the facilities of the main Library while the job was in progress. I know Minister Noel Treacy and the Office of Public Works wish me to express their appreciation of the co-operation of the Members and staff of the Houses during the course of the work. Credit is also due to the contractor, who was very flexible in scheduling the most disruptive work during the least incovenient times.
Every effort was made by all parties concerned to keep lines of communication open about progress on the work front. This is why I feel there was a high degree of understanding and patience from Senators as to the length of time involved and disturbance caused by the work. I personally kept in close touch with the Office of Public Works and the officials and, in turn, reported back formally to this House at least seven times. On each occasion a committee meeting was held prior to making that report. So I know Senators will appreciate the effort made by their representatives on the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
The role of the Seanad has, over the years, been questioned, criticised, misunderstood and often ignored. I hope that as our sitting here today is being televised it will give the people in their homes their first opportunity to judge us and to give them a greater understanding of how their Parliament works.
The work of the Seanad does not stop here, but as with all living institutions is ongoing. It is appropriate today, when we are to take the Bill dealing with the Blasket Islands, to be introduced by the Taoiseach, that I should thank him and the Government for the amount of legislation they have given to the Seanad.
I intend, with my colleagues on the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, to ensure that the Irish translation service will be put in place for the next autumn session. A translation booth will be required to be installed. The Seanad has waited too long for that service. Indeed, I had hoped that I would have had it in place today, but that was not possible.
I would like to end on a personal note. It gives me great joy to be back in this Chamber, where I started my parliamentary career in 1977. My great hope would be that I would remain here for many years to come, without interruption.
