George Lee (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I, too, want to extend my sympathies to the family of Nuala Fennell. Being a relative newcomer to politics I did not know Nuala for very long, but I did have one brief encounter with her in Dublin South, where I am now the new TD, where she told me at the time of my selection at the convention to run for the recent by-election that I was not to mind anybody who said that journalists never made it in politics. She told me that she had made the transformation and I, too, would be well able to make it. She also told me that hers was the last time Fine Gael in Dublin South had three seats and that she was delighted to see that a journalist had come along and Fine Gael would have three seats again. I found her just as Deputy Mitchell described - warm, open and kind. I can say for certain that is true because in my short interaction with her, those were some of the characteristics which shone through.

From my previous life as an ordinary citizen, having observed when I was much younger some of the work of Nuala Fennell, I know that she was a campaigning person and was quite tough in the fights that she would pick. It is to be commended that she was a fighter on behalf of others, that she was a leader, that she would identify the important issues and that she had a great sense of fairness and of compassion.

It strikes me, as everybody stated here today, that nobody doubts at all that Nuala Fennell did a great deal for women's issues and for the women's movement in this country. Indeed, great tribute has been paid to that work but as I see it, with the luxury of where we are now with many battles fought and many rights established, which should never have had to be fought for at all, to the extent that Nuala fought for women's issues, she fought for my issues too. I have a daughter, I have sisters and I have a wife, and there are women in my life. The idea that someone would fight for their rights is the same as someone fighting for my rights because they matter too.

Nuala should not be put in the camp of those fighting for one side or another. She fought for us all, and she made a significant contribution in that regard. It is my great honour to be following in her footsteps in Dublin South. From my brief interaction with her, I can say that the campaigning and fighting spirit she had and the sense of justice which she seemed to pursue regardless of the personal costs in terms of efforts, etc., is something I hope I can carry forward to some extent. I express my sympathies to her family and pay tribute to Nuala.

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