Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputies for their kind words and their courtesy not just today, but in the past few weeks. I would be grateful if the House might indulge me in a few words and the short acknowledgements I wish to make. I will not make a long speech on policy or any of the events I have been involved with. I will just say a few words of thanks.

I am proud to have been elected Taoiseach by this House three times. It has been a great privilege to serve my community and our nation, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity that the House and my constituents have given me. I am always conscious I would not be here if my constituents did not give me the opportunity, like everybody else in the House.

I was first elected Taoiseach on 26 June 1997. The cliché says a week is a long time in politics, and a few colleagues noted that this morning. I am told that when I leave office on 7 May I will have served 565 weeks as head of Government. It has been both a long journey and a real pleasure to have played my part in bringing this country forward and working with everyone in the House to do this over almost 11 years.

As my time comes to an end, I thank all my ministerial colleagues. I am very grateful to all my Cabinet colleagues and my Ministers of State who served with me since 1997. They have soldiered with me, they have sustained me and they have served with loyalty and great skill. I include the Ceann Comhairle in that.

I acknowledge the wise and skilful advice I received from the Attorneys General with whom I served, David Byrne, Michael McDowell, Rory Brady and the current Attorney General, Paul Gallagher. They are very important people these days. Through my Ministers, I thank their respective Secretaries General and departmental staff, who have always provided the Governments I have led with every proper assistance as we endeavoured to do our duty for the people.

I have the height of respect for this country's Civil Service and believe they are one of the great cornerstones of our democracy. Over many years, I have found them to be the most impartial, dedicated and talented public service on this Continent. One cannot do this job for a year, never mind 11, without working closely with those people. I have huge admiration for them. In that regard, I also mention the many people who work in our State agencies and semi-State agencies. They have always been most helpful to me in my role as Taoiseach and they too can take great pride in their work for the people. It is often forgotten but they work hard.

I thank the secretary to the Government and the Secretary General of my Department, Dermot McCarthy, who encompasses all of the best traditions of the Irish public service. Through him, I thank all of the officials at every level in the Department of Taoiseach. Their professionalism and commitment has been a source of inspiration to me in performing my duties. The Ceann Comhairle will appreciate that when one is in a Department for 11 years, one probably gets to know more about the Department than one should, even more than civil servants would like you to know. I have worked very closely with many of the civil servants and ended up being friends with them, as well as being head of Department.

I acknowledge my advisers, past and present, and especially my long-serving and loyal programme manager, Gerry Hickey, who has been with me since I went to the Department of Finance in 1991. I also thank all those people who worked with me over the years in the Department of Labour and the Department of Finance. I was appointed Minister for Labour on two occasions and Minister for Finance on three occasions. I worked briefly in other Departments also and I thank all the people I worked with.

I thank the Oireachtas Press Gallery, who report on proceedings here, for being courteous down through the years. I understand they have a job to do and deadlines to meet. I appreciate their work.

A Cheann Comhairle, I wish to express my gratitude to you for many years of friendship. In your elevated position, I commend you on the wise use of your parliamentary skills, honed over years of experience, your impeccable judgment and most of all your decency and fairness. I wish you and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle every success.

I will always hold a deep and lasting affection for this House. My respect is rooted in the fact that generations of our people had to fight and struggle to establish a truly representative native Parliament. That sense of respect is further enhanced by the people who serve this House. I have the highest regard for Members on all sides. They work extraordinarily hard to get here and then to remain. They do so because of their concern for others. My long experience of Members is that they give everything and sacrifice a great deal to try to do the best they can for people. The demands placed on them, in every way, are horrendous. Those demands seem to become more onerous each year. Politics is a tough career for officeholders and for those on the front and back benches. There are far easier and more lucrative careers. I think almost every other career is more lucrative. I appreciate and admire Members for all they do.

The staff of Leinster House have always treated me with great courtesy and have always been ready to provide assistance. I particularly wish to acknowledge all of the ushers with whom we deal every day and who are fountains of knowledge on the history of the Oireachtas. These men and women are unfailingly polite in carrying out their duties. I often wonder if all the stories they tell are true but, in any event, they sound good.

I wish to turn now to another place which has my deepest affection, Northern Ireland, and I thank previous speakers for mentioning it. Peace has been the overriding priority of my political life. All of us in the House have lived through the difficulties that arose in the past. I have given that cause my all. I salute today the leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland who have travelled the extra mile for peace. They are all friends of mine now. Our journey is not done but our path has been set. We have seen in our times how much we can accomplish when men and women of goodwill dare to take the risks required in the quest for peace.

Many people from all walks of Irish life and beyond our shores have played an honourable role in fostering reconciliation. It is difficult to single out individuals. Sometimes when one tries to do so, the list becomes too long. I will just mention one individual but I thank them all collectively. So many people played consequential roles but today I wish to make special reference to the First Minster of that other fine democratic Assembly on this island. Like me, Dr. Paisley will soon leave office and bring to a close a long and distinguished career. He has played a significant role in the history of this island. I acknowledge his courage and kindness to me. I wish him and his wife, Eileen, well in retirement. It was my task to work with Dr. Paisley to try to turn matters around. At our early meetings, he stated he would never shake hands with me and there were rows and scowls between us on many occasions. However, we have ended up good friends and I acknowledge his contribution. This island has come a long way and I thank God for that.

I wish to say a word of thanks to all my colleagues at the European Council. I thank previous speakers for their remarks about Ireland's Presidency of the European Union, which occurred in a special and most enjoyable period of my career. Across Europe, it is recognised that all of Ireland's presidencies have been good.

Our staff in our embassies and our diplomats in Europe and the wider world represent this country with flair and distinction. People will appreciate that having been an officeholder for 19 and a half years, I have travelled to all parts of the world with these people. I thank them for all the work they do. In recent years we expanded our diplomatic corps across the globe and its members do a good job keeping the Taoiseach of the day abreast of all the issues that arise in the world's trouble spots. They also help our business interests and Irish people involved in activities in the Third World. I admire the huge efforts these people make. There were many tragedies during my period as Taoiseach and the staff of our embassies have been obliged to work exceptionally hard as a result. I thank them for the dedication they displayed in that regard. Their work made matters much easier for those of us at home.

I wish now to refer to my colleagues in the House. I shall continue to be a Member of the Dáil and thank God for that. I look forward to working with colleagues in the House in a different capacity. I will be earning my living looking after the needs of the people of Dublin Central again. I look forward to doing that.

I look forward to working with Deputy Cyprian Brady, my great friend, in the future for the betterment of our local organisation and the communities we serve. I also look forward to my ongoing work for the people of Dublin Central alongside Deputies Costello and Gregory. I particularly want to wish Deputy Gregory good health into the future. I have spent 30 years working with the Deputy and I wish him well. My lifelong friend, Senator Kett, is suffering from cancer. I wish him well and I hope he can overcome the disease.

All those on the Fianna Fáil benches know innately how honoured I am to have led them for so long and I thank them for putting up with me. Members of Fianna Fáil bring to this House a proud republican tradition which draws on history but which is also focused on building a better future. It is a generous republicanism — outward looking and modern — which embraces our national identity and also our wider European identity. This is the republicanism which inspired me, as a very young person, to join Fianna Fáil. It is the same republicanism that motivates our party today. I look forward to Fianna Fáil going from strength to strength in the years ahead. I have no doubt my successor will do our country and this party proud. Deputy Cowen has been a good friend and he will make a great Taoiseach when, hopefully, the House elects him. I thank him for the years of loyalty he has given to me. No one in politics could have asked for a better friend or colleague. He has worked for our party up and down the country.

The Progressive Democrats have been an integral part of the three Governments I have led. Deputy Harney has served with me in the Oireachtas for 31 years. She has my enduring respect and my gratitude for sharing my commitment to a fairer, stronger Ireland. I also want to extend my good wishes today to former Deputy Michael McDowell, who worked closely with me as Attorney General, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Tánaiste.

In years to come, I will look back with pride on my decision to invite the Green Party into government. The Ministers for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputies Gormley and Ryan, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Sargent, and their colleagues have proven to be politicians of conviction and talent. It is my hope that the current Administration will run its full term and deliver on an innovative and meaningful programme for Government. I thank the members of the Green Party for their excellent work.

I also wish to acknowledge the Independent Deputies who have given me steadfast support in government. I thank them for the loyalty they have displayed in respect of the policies I have been pursuing.

I have known Deputy Kenny since I entered Dáil Éireann. He is the only politician in the House who has been here longer than me. I wish him well in his continued service to his constituency and to the country. I have worked with the Deputy and we have enjoyed many social occasions together. We worked hard in our political capacities. I have great regard for you, Enda. I thank you for the job you do as Leader of the Opposition in the House and in various other roles. It is not an easy job and I understand that. Each day, you must come here and represent the parliamentary democratic process. The nature our parliamentary democracy means that from time to time we have crossed swords. I would like to think this was not personal and it has never felt that way to me. While we have not always agreed politically, I have never doubted your sincerity or your patriotism. I wish you well. I also wish Deputy Kenny's predecessors, former Deputy John Bruton and Deputy Noonan well. They are people I respect.

I have long admired Deputy Gilmore. I have known him for many years in various capacities. He is an incisive parliamentarian with a strong grasp of public policy. I am pleased to say I have many friends in the Labour Party.

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