Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I join Deputies Power and Finneran in acknowledging the huge work done by the former Chief of Staff, Dermot Earley, for the Defence Forces and I wish him and his family well as he battles with a serious illness. Everyone who met and knew Dermot Earley will acknowledge his warm personality. We all send him our good wishes and I do so on behalf of the Labour Party. There were a few occasions when I, as a Galway man, wished he was not quite as effective in the Roscommon jersey, but that is for another day.

See this speech in context