Victor Boyhan praises Chelsea gold, urges Bloom support

Coirheilach, Leader Senators. Firstly, I want to highlight the very significant win in Chelsea yesterday from one of our greatest Irish horticulturists who exhibited the microcosm of Kells Bay in the beautiful County Kerry and that took a gold yesterday. It's a very prestigious, it's a massive undertaking. It meant the shipment of many, many ferns that grow in that most beautiful part of the world. Looking over the Dingle Peninsula and I know Coirheilach you know it well and others here would know it too well. But our London Chelsea Flower Show is hopping with excitement and this morning they are looking at the most prestigious, at this most prestigious horticultural event and award and of course it goes to Billy Alexander from Kells Bay Gardens and it's a fantastic achievement and there you will see the famous Dixoniae Arizona ferns and all the Irish ferns that he grows there. He's a great advocate for Irish horticulture and garden design and I strongly recommend people visit Kells Bay. Its gardens are open, it's a wonderful part. And so that leads me next in to give a plug for Bloom. Bloom starts next Thursday the 29th of May. It's an amazing, it's our equivalent to Chelsea and it's fast coming up to its pace and its standard and I wish it well and tickets are currently on sale at www.boardbeabloom.com. I think that is important. It is a wholly Irish organisation, Board Pia, promoting Irish horticulture of which I continue to promote in this house and also I'd like in the area of horticulture I'd also like to acknowledge the wonderful work of the National Botanic Gardens, again a wonderful horticultural gem of which I was a student many years ago and it's free for everyone to go and visit and I'd ask people to go. I'd like Leader to ask for debate on horticulture because I think that's important, particularly ornamentals and fruit and vegetable production so maybe we could have that. I now turn finally to give thanks to Sharon Devlin of the Creative Directors Tala Community Group who came in here yesterday at my invitation to the AV room for a film presentation and many of you will have missed it but what a treat we had and what a moving and inspiring film it was entitled We Will Not Sit Down and Be Quiet and we had packed capacity in the AV room with over 40 advocates, people who had lived in institutional care who shared their personal experience and their personal story and it is the most moving film, moving movie and they spent two hours here and met with a number of politicians afterwards to advance what they call our human rights and the dignity that they want to be afforded to them and that independence that they can live in communities. I am today circulating that film to every member of the house and I would strongly encourage you to have a look at it and possibly to engage and go back to the organisation but a big thanks to Councillor Allen Edge who facilitated and organised and initially thought up the idea and suggested that we bring it into this house and also to Sharon Devlin of the creative director of the Tallaght Community Arts. It was an amazing, it was a moving day and I'd urge you to have a look at this film. Thank you. Caramon.