Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I offer sympathies to Finola, Emily, Matthew, Juliana, Mary-Elizabeth, our colleague Deputy Richard Bruton, and John's sister, Mary. Their loss is massive, but this is also a major loss for all of us. John was a big man in many ways and the impact he has had on all of us in the House is immense. For anybody who comes into politics, it is about making an impact and leaving a mark. John Bruton has left that in many parts of the world and Ireland, and certainly at home with his own family, a family he was so proud of. They are proud of him, but he often spoke about them too. His love and affection for Finola, which we saw in how he spoke about her, was immense.

As a young person growing up, it was important for all of us to see those family values John brought right throughout his work.

Like Helen, Thomas and others here, I speak today as a Meath person who had the honour of working with John, although, thankfully, not trying to follow in his footsteps because that is impossible. I was lucky to be elected with him along the way. I would have hated to have been coming in after him because that would have been very difficult. People here talked about his energy in debates in this House and his focus and contribution to the national agenda and European agenda. I can confirm without a doubt he brought the same energy to his local work and to the service he provided throughout the county of Meath and sometimes into counties Westmeath, Cavan, Monaghan and Kildare. It was immense and you could never, ever even try to match that service.

We still talk about Deputy Richard Bruton here and all the doors he covers on a weekly and daily basis. I think John probably tried to match him, or came close on many occasions, because John Bruton really believed that to be a representative and a TD for your county and constituency, you had to constantly engage with the people and meet with them, talk to them and hear them. Deputy Naughten was right when he said that John really wanted to listen to people. I recalled a story last night with a neighbour of someone whose door John knocked on in an estate many years ago. At the first house John knocked on in this estate, the person came out and told him about the issues for the estate and gave him a list of queries, and the list was long, with eight or nine items that had to be addressed. John went to every other house in that estate and did not say he had already got the list and everybody in every house repeated what the issues were. John spent hours in that one estate in the middle of an election, and we all know the pressure that is on, listening to and letting each person tell his or her story or their version of what had to be done. Needless to say, it was all followed up on and they got a letter as well. You could not compete with the service he would provide, through Deirdre in the office, through Kevin and many others. That little black book John would bring back, which was a reasonably sized black book, would be full of issues that had to be resolved and queries that would be dealt with, and they were always dealt with. They were always followed up on. I came along many years later and when I would try to solve something people would say, "Look, here is John Bruton's letter." They would bring it out and show it to me. This could happen in any part of the county from Oldcastle to Laytown to Dunboyne right over to Enfield. It did not matter where you went; John Bruton had been there before you. He had been there as a public representative trying and delivering and working for people and he would always do that.

I remember travelling in the car with him when he was leader of the party, and if there was a gap between meetings, he would hop out and say, "Let's do a few doors." We could be in the middle of nowhere and John would hop out and you would have to get out with him. It was a great way to learn from that. I see John Farrelly in the Public Gallery, who is also a former colleague of all of ours here. John would also have many fond stories, likewise probably chasing the other John down some of the roads and covering ground, knowing he was always there ahead of us. John Bruton believed in hopping out of the car, knocking on a door and saying hello and so on. A bit like Helen said, John had respect for everybody. He never assumed anybody knew who he was. At every door that was opened, he would start with, "Hi, I'm John Bruton." I found this out when I first started. I said, "John, everyone knows you" and he said, "No, you can never take that for granted." He really believed in presenting himself and representing people, and that is what he will be remembered for.

John had a massive influence on County Meath. I said yesterday we were lucky to have him in the county as a TD. The country was lucky to have him, but certainly, a growing county like Meath was, that changed a lot over his 35 years in politics and was an area he still represented even when he was not a TD. He still got involved in the local economic forum on behalf of the county council. He would still ring us very regularly with his view on issues. It was never a view he pushed on you. It was a supportive view. He would support our work. He would give you an idea or concept and give you his thoughts. He never expected you to take on board what he said or to implement his ideas, but he would offer them, and it was always in a very kind and supportive way.

I know I certainly would not be here as a TD if it was not for John Bruton. Many other colleagues in Fine Gael would have a similar story, that he is the reason they are in politics and he is the reason they joined Fine Gael. In many cases, it was his advice and guidance, like Richard here with us today, that helped to get all of us elected in the first place because John gave that advice.

I am not going to deny that when it came to elections, of course, he was competitive. John Bruton always believed in getting a big vote and, by God, he got a big vote, but he deserved it. He worked hard for it. It always made those campaigns very interesting. It was a pleasure and an honour, a Cheann Comhairle, to have served with him.

I recall many fond stories. Long before I was in politics, before I even knew I wanted to be a politician, I bumped into John Bruton when we students were doing a school magazine. He was Taoiseach at the time and I was around 14 or 15.

Our very blueshirt teacher PJ Nugent, who really believed in politics, said we had to go and interview the Taoiseach. John met us and gave us time. He answered a couple of questions and he took a picture with us. Sadly we lost some of his head in the picture but we had him in our magazine and it really meant a lot to us as young people. We were very young and none of us were involved in politics but he took time out as Taoiseach to talk to us and give us his advice.

On another note, we talked about John Bruton having that big laugh. You would always know if he was anywhere in the room because you would hear him with that laugh, no matter where he was. You would feel his presence. That is what he brought to politics, that presence, impact and desire for public service and to deliver.

During an údarás election - I was not long a councillor at the time - we stopped off in Colwells in Oberstown. Many here from Meath know it. It is a little pub. In the corner there was a pool table. I said I could not debate with John on European or international affairs but I would try to bring him down to my level and we would have a game of pool. I did not realise he had been on the pool table in Nobber. We had a game of pool and it was moving along nicely. I think I was a couple of shots ahead. At one stage John just looked up and said, "Damien, you do know I am still the party leader." I will leave it at that and you can tell who won that game.

It was an honour and we were lucky to have had him.

See this speech in context