Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am truly delighted to have the opportunity to say a few words about Marie. She has looked after Labour Party tables for many years. There used to be Labour Party tables, plural.

Those who are around as long as I am will remember that Marie's late mum, Peg, and Peg's close associate Isabelle, overlapped Marie's sterling service here.

Marie knows more State secrets and Members' foibles than anybody in these buildings apart, perhaps, from Darren, who may have a slight edge in that regard. She is always the definition of courtesy. She made the dining room a welcoming oasis for all of us. She made it a place where, on the good days, we could relax and, on the bad days, we could put things behind us with her consoling voice and good smile. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle has mentioned nuts' corner. I better explain that. It used to be a table at the edge of the Labour Party tables to which, after the great schism within their party, a number of Fianna Fáil dissidents moved. That was a cause of great angst for many years until Pat Magner became Chairman of the Joint Services Committee and abolished it. For a while, the dissidents tried to sit there but they eventually moved back to the Fianna Fáil side.

In saying farewell to Marie we are saying farewell to a friend and a confidant. Politicians in this place are judged by many - the media, our constituents and our colleagues - but I have always believed that the truest judgments of the worth and calibre of Members are made by the staff of these Houses. They often give the most vigorous and accurate judgments. Marie saw us in all our guises and all our moods. We will miss her greatly. I hope she will not be a stranger and will drop back to check on how Yvonne, Thelma, Willie, Christine and all the rest are doing. I hope she enjoys the four holidays that I know she has planned. From listening to Marie in the past day or two, I know that Caitlin might be here. I get a feeling from listening to Marie that Caitlin might be back - not as somebody working in the restaurant but as Taoiseach.

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