An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Joe Flaherty (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach

She made a charge against the members of Fianna Fáil the length and breadth of this country who had no opportunity to defend themselves. She came in here today, on a day when there are huge issues elsewhere, and used her valuable time to engage in an attack on the party that she could not force her way through to get a seat in Dáil Éireann. That is the only reason. It was a very personal and vindictive attack on people – the people who built this country and who brought us into Europe. The Senator spoke about this idealistic view she has of the 1930s. Does she know what 1930s Ireland was like? It was an Ireland that she wants – it was an Ireland of impoverished children, women tied to sinks and women put into institutions. That is what she wants to go back to. We are a modern liberal country. She might not like it, but that is what we are. We can thank Fianna Fáil and our forefathers in Fianna Fáil for that. I am glad that Fianna Fáil has its hand on the tiller of government and not Senator Keogan and not her ilk, because it would be a poor future and a poor country for my three daughters if she had any hand in power.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:57+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-19