'Newbies' get first taste of life in the Dail

There were four new Meath faces in Leinster House last week for the opening of the 31st Dail, which welcomed a record 76 first-time TDs. Four of Meath's six TDs, Dominic Hannigan, Regina Doherty, Peadar Tóibín and Ray Butler, were among the 'new boys and girls' who attended the first sitting of the new Dail last Wednesday. It was an emotional day for all concerned as they brought friends and family along for the momentous occasion. Deputy Ray Butler said it was a day he will never forget. "It was full of emotion. I had my wife, Marie, son, Eric and eldest daughter, Chloe, with me, along with my brothers, David and Patrick. "I was thinking of my late father, Davey, who would have been a very proud man that day." Deputy Butler said that, as he was sitting in the chamber, he thought somebody might pinch him and wake him up from a dream. "Everything happened so fast, from being added to the Fine Gael ticket to my election," he added. The FG TD said there was a now a major task ahead for the Dail. "We have to sort out the mess we are in at the moment. That is the priority. We also have to sort the banks out, which will be very difficult," he said. Deputy Regina Doherty described her first day in the Dail as "magical, but a bit of a whirlwind". She started off her day beside Dr Garret Fitzgerald in the RTE studios in Leinster House and ended it sitting beside Tim Pat Coogan in the RTE Donnybrook studios. "It was a fantastic day, especially for my dad, who has been a long time Fine Gael supporter," she said. Deputy Doherty said the amount of work that needed to be done now was phenomenal. She said there were queues of people coming to her office in Ratoath every day to meet her and it was disconcerting how many of them were in financial difficulties. "I have no illusions about the scale of the job this government has ahead of it over the next few years," she commented. Deputy Peadar Tóibín was one of a team of 14 Sinn Fein TDs who arrived en masse at the Dail last Wednesday with their leader and newly elected Louth TD, Gerry Adams. "It was a great day. There was a great sense of excitement and it was great for my family. I brought along my parents, Margaret and Jack, and my wife, Deirdre," he recalled. It was a very busy day for Deputy Tóibín as he was interviewed by Newstalk, Ryan Tubridy, Radio na Gaeltachta and was featured on 'The Late Debate' on RTE 1. "Sinn Fein have been pushing the door for a seat in Meath for so long; it was great to finally be there when the door opened," he said. Deputy Tóibín was to give his maiden speech in the Dail yesterday (Tuesday) in a debate on the programme for government which, he said, was phenomenally similar to that of the Fianna Fail/Green coalition, despite the huge changes in the Dail. For Labour's Deputy Dominic Hannigan, Leinster House was familiar territory, despite being a first-time TD. As a former senator, he has been a regular at Leinster House for the past three years and is now operating from the same office he had as senator. He was accompanied on his first day by his parents, Brigid and John. "There are a lot of new faces but also a lot of familiar faces and staff and I am sharing with an office with one of the new TDs," he said. He said the task ahead now to make sure the programme for government is implemented in order to get the country back on its feet. "We have to get cracking on that and make it work," he said.