Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Ar nós na cainteoirí eile, ba mhaith liom fíor-buíochas a ghabháil leis an Taoiseach as ucht an sár-obair atá déanta aige mar Thaoiseach éifeachtach den chéad scoth. Tá cúrsaí eacnamaíochta, sóisialta agus polaitíochta na tíre seo an-threán de bharr an cheannaireacht a thaispeáin sé le linn na 11 bliain ina raibh sé i gcumhacht mar cheannaire an Rialtais. I join with previous speakers in acknowledging the tremendous achievements of Deputy Bertie Ahern as our Taoiseach and as a member and leader of our party. I want to thank him on behalf of all of the thousands of activists and hundreds of thousands of supporters of our party, who have reposed in him their constant confidence in the management of our national affairs, and who are deeply appreciative, as has been said by other speakers, of the very genuine attributes he brought to the office, which were very much in synch with the mood of the times.

He is without question the consummate politician of his era in this country. Many talented politicians who have faced him and confronted him have come to know that and have been gracious enough to acknowledge it, while I also acknowledge their contribution in the role they played.

It is important on occasions such as this to recognise that for all the adversarial and sometimes phoney confrontation that takes place in this House, there are times when we can rise to the occasion and leave partisan politics outside it, but the great genius of the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern's politics and methodology has been his ability to extend his appeal beyond party. We know from our electoral success that he has been a tremendous strategist. Colleagues like myself and others who have worked closely with him on those campaigns would be the first to acknowledge that that sense of strategy, not regularly articulated and often denigrated to the point of its non-existence by some who commentate on our public affairs simply because he does not articulate it, is a facet of his personality that is grounded in his belief that we are here to solve problems and represent the people.

At times we do not reach those standards, despite the best of our ability — all of us have suffered from that — but that is the motivation behind what we do here. That is the reason there are politicians in this House today who represent the people, because they have that democratic mandate. While from time to time what goes on here, which is the public conduct of our public affairs, may be amenable to be characterised as a circus, it is important work and as Taoiseach and leader of this country, both domestically and abroad, Deputy Bertie Ahern has always, in my knowledge of him — it has been a fairly intimate knowledge of how he has conducted his business — devoted himself, with a great seriousness of purpose, to that task because of its importance in the democratic life of the country. He has displayed, in a way that others strive to do, although perhaps not as successfully, that it is possible to be a man of the people in discharging the duties of this high office of Taoiseach.That ability to identify and empathise with the people is a connection and a requirement in our democratic life that stands to its strength and robustness even when it is often ridiculed or denigrated, sometimes with justification but sometimes with an exaggerated sense of importance.

The Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, is someone with whom I have worked very closely throughout my political career. I stated here in one of the heated debates recently about his fitness and suitability for office, about which I never had a question, that loyalty is a political virtue. It is not the sole political virtue but it is one. I am convinced that unless that trait is displayed in times of difficulty as well as in good times, the ability for us as a Government or as a party to collectively work together is put at risk because there will be good and bad times in politics. There will be ups and downs. I am sure there will be, from the mass media outlets we contend with as part of our mass mediated world, opinion polls on a weekly basis. There will be shifts and trends and much significance attached to many issues, but as politicians we have a duty to maintain our focus on what is important, which is having colleagues that will work with and stand by one. What is important is that one can come into this House and be accountable, and rightly so, in the interests of the checks and balances that make for the democratic life of this country of which we should all be proud. It is also important that one pursues one's vision and clarity of purpose regardless of the winds and, on occasion, the gales that blow into one's face.

When the career of the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, is trawled over and detailed, there are achievements which can never and will never be taken away from him because of the type of man he is and because he regarded it as a genuine privilege to be Taoiseach of this country and leader of this party. That love and affection for party and country has been reciprocated in full measure by people and membership.

When we talked, as the largest party, I never suggested that the nation and the party are one and the same thing. That would be an absurd and foolish comment to make but I believe, if I may introduce a partisan point, that representing the nation at its best is something that has given Fianna Fáil the continuous support of the people to put us in government. While I will always respect Deputy Ó Caoláin's views in terms of asking that we resign or move aside, I often have to remind some people that it is the democratic mandate of the people that has us on this side of the House——

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