Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I served in a very good Government with two of Deputy Gilmore's predecessors, former Deputy Dick Spring and Deputy Quinn. Deputy Quinn and I have been battling against and following each other across various Departments for almost 34 years. It has been a long road but I wish you well, Ruairí. I hold another predecessor, Deputy Rabbitte, in very high regard. I thank Pat, who shadowed me during my times as Ministers for Labour and Finance and later in his capacity as leader of the Labour Party. I thank him for the respect he has always shown me and for his great commitment. I thank the Labour Party for its good wishes and collegiality over the years. I enjoyed working with its members in every way.

I also acknowledge the work undertaken by Deputy Ó Caoláin and the other Sinn Féin Members of this House who have always engaged constructively with me. I thank them for their work.

All Deputies, irrespective of their party loyalties, have my undiminished admiration. I will always be grateful for the strong values and enduring friendships Members of this House have afforded me. I have many friends in this House for whom I have great respect, as I do also for those I may not know as well. They have shaped the fabric of my politics and, indeed, my life. When I meet them around the country I see what they are doing. I have been in the chicken and chips brigade for 27 or 28 years, so I have watched everybody in their own constituencies and I know the commitment they have made. I entered politics because I believed it to be a noble profession. Over three decades on, I hold firmly to that view which, if anything, is stronger now. I have seen at first hand the long hours and dedication, as well as the pressure on family commitments and the traumas involved.

I would particularly like to mention all the colleagues I worked with here who have gone to their eternal reward. I also wish to mention those who lost out. It is never nice to see people who work so hard losing out because of the whims of the democratic process. I remember all of those.

I am proud that in a hard-working profession I have earned a reputation for being a hard worker. At least you said so, a Cheann Comhairle, and I thank you for that. I openly and honestly admit that during my time as Taoiseach I did not get everything right. I always did my best, however, and worked to the best of my ability for the people. I stood successfully in 12 local and national elections. Public service is a calling and it has been my life's work. I have enjoyed every day of it, or at least most days.

As I finish my time in the House as Taoiseach, I want to thank every one of you sincerely. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh ar fad as ucht bhúr gcairdeas agus bhúr gcomhoibriú thar na blianta. Obviously, I want to thank my family and friends and while I will not go through all their names, I do wish to thank those close to me who supported and advised me. They include my big brothers Noel and Maurice, and my sisters Eileen and Kathleen who are here. I also thank my daughters who are both out of the country today working hard, which is a good family trait.

I will close by quoting the words of a Jesuit writer, the great Fr. John Sullivan. On good and bad days I read Fr. John's work, and the following few lines selected from his many writings appear suitable today: "Take life in instalments. This day now, at least let this be a good day. Be always beginning, let the past go. Now let me do whatever I have the power to do."

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