Before I begin, as this is my first speech in the Chamber, I would like to thank the people of Longford and Westmeath for putting their faith in me to represent them here. It is a great privilege. When I walked through the doors across the way for the first time, though, never did I imagine that my maiden speech would be in the middle of a pandemic, yet here we are. We are all aware that we are living in very uncertain and worrying times, and judging by the stability impact report that the Minister delivered last w…