Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is for me a very special occasion to be standing here today and to have this opportunity to pay tribute to John. I would not be here if it were not for John Bruton. I was lucky enough to head up Young Fine Gael at the time. One thing that has not been mentioned much is the real credit John deserves for the enthusiasm he brought to younger people to get involved in politics, to not just sit it out or be there to complain but to get involved and take a stance to be involved. Particularly within our party, there is nearly a generation of people in this House who would not have come here without that encouragement.

I was thinking about the following when I heard some of the great things that have already been mentioned. If you had walked up to knock on a door and forgot to say your name, John would nearly give out to you. He would say you should never, ever start without saying who you are and introducing yourself. He did so many things for Ireland and many of them have been mentioned. To have anybody from a family enter politics is an amazing achievement; to have two brothers do it, Richard, is absolutely a credit to your family.

John did something, in which I played a small part, that I will always remember because, for me, it was one of the great changes in Ireland. I was involved in a group called the Right to Remarry and we came to campaign for that divorce referendum. A lot of people played a part, but nobody played a greater part than John Bruton. People knew when John spoke, particularly on that final weekend, that it came from the heart, from a position and from the courage to take a stand and ask for something that was for the greater good of the people and the country he represented. That intervention set up a change in Ireland that we all, as politicians, have benefited from in later years.

Another thing that will always be there for me about John is his role within Europe. He was probably one of our greatest European statesmen. He believed in the European project and fostered a belief in it. He was a proud Christian democrat but more than that, he was a proud believer in why the European Union had been established, what it could do and how Ireland would be transformed by its involvement in it. He worked tirelessly for that throughout not just his political life but his entire life.

In giving my sympathies to his immediate and extended family and to you, Richard, I want to take that moment to recognise that for so many young people of the 1990s, we owe him an incredible debt for what he did to encourage us to get involved, to make a contribution and to be part of his legacy.

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