Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

You never know what he might pull out of the hat, to use your own phrase.

I am the only leader in this House who in the past 11 years has not been in a position to put questions to the Taoiseach from the Opposition benches, as did the former Deputy John Bruton, Deputy Noonan, former Deputy Spring, Deputy Rabbitte, Deputy Ó Caoláin, the Minister, Deputy Gormley, the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, and even former Deputy Joe Higgins. It is an unusual position to be in. Over those years, many people have tried to capture Bertie Ahern. Joe Higgins said that asking him questions was like playing handball against a haystack. The Minister, Deputy Gormley, spoke about Planet Bertie, and used terms like that to try to capture him. I have even heard of industrial coating being used — the Teflon Taoiseach — and the sports writer in The Irish Times spoke of him in terms of religion — the Zen of Bertie.

People have spoken of your extraordinary political skills but I think the key to your successes are your personal qualities. There are many here who would say nobody really knows Bertie Ahern but one thing I know from my experience over the past 11 years is that nothing is too unimportant for you. You use your strengths to concentrate on the issues that matter and to make the impossible a reality. You have embraced some impossible tasks and made them happen, not least the Northern Ireland peace process. When many others would have lost patience because endless patience was required, you never gave up. Although there were many involved in the success that is now the peace in Northern Ireland, you were the prime architect. I know of no political leader on this island or elsewhere who contributed so much to the peace of their own people than you did. It has to be a matter of particular pride for you, as you stand down from office, to know that in your own time and your own land, you were the prime architect of peace after what we endured for so long.

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