Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join the Taoiseach - and I am sure the other party leaders - in paying tribute to the work of Kieran Coughlan as Clerk of the Dáil and his service here in the Oireachtas, as well as to wish him well for his retirement. Kieran Coughlan was probably the first official of Leinster House who I met when I was first elected here in 1989. Kieran was then the Clerk Assistant of the Dáil and of course became Clerk of the Dáil shortly thereafter. I was struck immediately by Kieran's courtesy, help and assistance, which has been maintained throughout these years. It also is fair to state, as the Taoiseach observed, that as Clerk of the Dáil, he has presided over a period of great change. I think of some of the change events that occurred in this Chamber over that time such as, for example, the defeat of an outgoing Taoiseach, the resignation of that Taoiseach and the continuance in office, on a temporary caretaker basis, of a Taoiseach and Government while a new Government was being formed by way of a coalition arrangement. I think also of the change of a Government mid-term without the holding of a general election, which I believe took place for the first time during his tenure. I also think of the establishment of tribunals of inquiry, which were established by the Oireachtas and were required to report here through the Clerk of the Dáil. This sometimes was a rather difficult and challenging role for the Clerk of the Dáil to exercise, particularly in circumstances in which the tribunals of inquiry were investigating the works of some powerful political figures.

I also think of the development of the committee system, which changed dramatically from what it was when he became Clerk of the Dáil. Back then, the norm was that Committee Stage of pretty well every Bill was taken in the Chamber but now, that is much more the exception. I also, of course, think of the establishment of the Oireachtas Commission, which gave the Houses of the Oireachtas a degree of budgetary independence that had not previously existed, as well as an independence of management.

As for the televising of the Dáil and the Seanad, I remember serving on a committee that was established when the idea of televising the Dáil was first mooted. All the discussions at that committee pertained to the rules, camera angles, what could be shown and what could not. Times have changed.

See this speech in context