Dáil debates

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

11:00 am

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I wish to take this opportunity, on behalf of all Members, to pay a special tribute to Kieran Coughlan, sitting in front of me, who retires as Secretary General and Clerk of Dáil Éireann in the coming weeks after a long and distinguished career of public service to the State. Kieran arrived in Leinster House in 1973 and has served in many roles in the Houses of the Oireachtas. All Members can agree this is a very different place than it was 40 years ago. Having been here for almost that length of time myself, I can discern many of the changes that have occurred through the lifetime of many Governments. For example, there have been changes to and modernisation of the communications systems that apply in terms of politics and the Oireachtas, as well as the introduction of Oireachtas broadcasting. There was a time when the only coverage given was in the newspapers of the day by the distinguished members of the Fourth Estate in the Visitors Gallery, as well as the odd reflection on radio. It has moved a long way with the instantaneous communication people now have.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Members have seen that.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Moreover, the setting up of the Oireachtas Commission and the publication of the debates on the web on a daily basis are all positive developments that have enhanced the business of the House to which Kieran Coughlan contributed generally. His role always was broad and included taking on responsibilities in referendum commissions, constituency commissions and the Standards in Public Office Commission. Members of most recent Dáileanna will have seen the Clerk of the Dáil read out the results from the constituencies and their names being enshrined on the record of the Dáil after the election by people throughout the country.

I have known Kieran Coughlan for all these years and state publically that through all that time, the outstanding characteristic of this Clerk of the Dáil was his absolute integrity in all his dealings with matters of public life and of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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He has served this State with distinction, honour and loyalty, as well as with great integrity and on this Members absolutely commend him.

In his future career, his proud roots from the rebel county no doubt will manifest themselves in the hurling fields - or the football fields when they revive their fortunes - and no doubt the red of Munster rugby also will hear his voice encouraging it on. Consequently, I must state to Kieran, his good wife Denise and his daughters, Becky and Ruth, that I thank him on behalf of the State for the outstanding contribution he has made to the development of political life and work surrounding the Houses of the Oireachtas for many years. I wish him good luck in the future.

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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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.

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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There is a lot being shown.

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Someone could have done without those angles last week.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It has gone beyond the heads and shoulders.

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Moreover, the setting up of the Standards in Public Office Commission and the constituency commissions all provided a new role for the Clerk of the Dáil. While one often takes change for granted, change must be managed and the responsibility for the management of the change Members have witnessed over that time was primarily with Kieran as Clerk of the Dáil. I agree with the Taoiseach's comments in respect of paying tribute to his integrity, efficiency, courtesy and above all, his respect for the elected Members of this House. He epitomises public service at its best and I wish him well in his retirement and I wish well to his wife, Denise and his daughters, Becky and Ruth, for the time ahead.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil do Kieran as ucht an méid oibre atá déanta aige le linn a thréimhse sa Dáil agus san Oireachtas. Is léir go n-oibríonn sé go dian dícheallach ar son gach éinne. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil a dhea-thionchar le feiscint ar chúrsaí parlaiminte na Tithe seo le blianta beaga anuas. I join the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in first thanking Kieran Coughlan for his outstanding contribution to the evolution of our parliamentary system.

I wish him a happy and long retirement.

Undoubtedly, he will be seen as one of the great modernisers and modernising influences in the evolution of our Parliament. He has reached 40 years of service. Clearly, 1973 was a very important year. I began secondary school, Cork won the All-Ireland football final after a long absence of many years-----

11:10 am

Photo of Willie O'DeaWillie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Limerick won the All-Ireland too.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and Kieran Coughlan joined the Oireachtas Service and came to Leinster House. I encourage Kieran to write his memoirs because his span of service covers the election of eight different taoisigh. Consider the history involved in all of that alone, and the sense of drama that surrounded it. He has witnessed many general elections and he has served 11 holders of the Office of Ceann Comhairle. It is an extraordinary life span of contribution and service.

He has been a member of the constituency boundary commissions, so he has an intimate knowledge of every constituency. He, more than most, will have an inside knowledge of how the next general election will pan out, and he will have more time to analyse the different constituencies. He might be able to say that if a boundary had not been put in a certain area, such-and-such a person might have got elected as opposed to the person who is elected. It will be fascinating for him on a personal level given his intimate knowledge of every constituency and every local electoral area. He was also a member of the Referendum Commissions, which were a new and modernising development that emanated from court decisions and so forth. They are very important institutions in setting down markers and guiding us in how we organise and administer referendums now and in the future.

Kieran Coughlan also played a significant role in helping the Dáil to develop international relationships, particularly with Sir William McKay, the former Clerk of the House of Commons, and Charles Johnson, former Parliamentarian of the US Congress. I also think of his work with the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Tánaiste will agree that it took a long time to develop the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association. It involved a great deal of painstakingly building trust between people from both sides and that was a significant achievement.

Above all, Kieran has been very diligent. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the House and particularly of the Standing Orders. The Ceann Comhairle will be the first to testify that all Members of the House are very anxious to comply with Standing Orders and do their level best to do that on an ongoing basis. Kieran's leaving will, perhaps, undermine our capacity to comply as best as we might with the Standing Orders into the future, but we will do our best.

Kieran was born and raised in Cork, which was a good advantage from the start. Like many Cork men I know, he exudes a very calm demeanour under great pressure. He always had a sense of the big picture in life and this Parliament has been the beneficiary of his wisdom and guidance. I thank him very much.

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have only been a Member of the House for a short time but I have found Kieran to be extremely courteous, understated, very helpful, thoroughly professional and good humoured. I thank him. With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I will give way to my colleague, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, who knows Kieran longer and, like Kieran, came to this House as a young man.

Photo of Caoimhghín Ó CaoláinCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I was not so young when I first became a Member, as I was a long time knocking at the door. There are many younger people than me who made it to the House.

I arrived alone to the House 16 years ago in 1997. It was a cold place politically. However, as I have said previously about the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas, they have all been extremely courteous and helpful in guiding a new Member, particularly somebody who had nobody to relate to from within their party grouping in previous service. For me, Kieran Coughlan stands out as certainly the most accessible, helpful and courteous of all. He is an outstanding administrator, as has been demonstrated to us time and again. He is a public servant of the highest calibre, epitomising the very best that our public service offers on an ongoing basis. That must be acknowledged.

His skill in addressing, overcoming and, indeed, getting around obstacles if required, has been shown on countless occasions. That is acknowledged by the experience of the greater number of Members who have been here for a number of years. Kieran has always addressed all of the challenges with the clear intent of bringing everything to a resolution and getting to the correct and best place.

As has already been mentioned, his care, attention, diligence and work with those of us who laboured over recent years to achieve the establishment of the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association is a clear example of the extent of Kieran's commitment to realising what is best not only for the Houses and the people of this State, but also with an eye to the needs of the people of Ireland and the need to work together to address the common challenges that life throws up to all of us irrespective of the part of the island in which we live. While for many the advent of the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association last October might not have been the most seismic development arising from the Good Friday Agreement, for us who have laboured it is a very important milestone and one that in time will prove to be of outstanding worth.

Finally, replacing Kieran Coughlan, a man of outstanding worth in terms of his service to the Houses and to the people of Ireland, will be a very difficult job. He has been a unique person in my 16 years in the House and on my behalf and on behalf of the team I represent here, I extend a very sincere céad míle maith aige and wish him many years of happy and healthy retirement.

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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On behalf of the members of the Technical Group, I wish to add my thanks to Kieran Coughlan and good wishes for his retirement after 40 years of service to the Houses, 23 of them in the Dáil. It is an extraordinary service over an extraordinary length of time.

Members of the Technical Group probably have more reason than most to be in contact with the Clerk of the Dáil's office. The nature of our group is slightly different from that of the political parties, so we always have some testing questions for the Clerk. It is very important that we feel we can approach the Clerk and know that we will be received with knowledge, trust and integrity, and that is what we have found with Kieran Coughlan. In addition, he has the personal quality of being an incredibly nice and likeable man. That greatly adds to the position. For most of us, he was the first person we formally met on first arriving to Leinster House following success in an election. In my case, it was a by-election, followed by a general election. As Deputy Ó Caoláin said, some of us were knocking on the door for a very long time. It was a great occasion to sign the roll and it is a time each of us will remember in our own way.

The institutional memory in an office is not just about documenting the various rules and regulations, but also about how they are arrived at and shaped. As has been said, Kieran Coughlan was a moderniser, so it was not only about documenting but also about shaping the changes in the Dáil.

There have been seven different Taoisigh and a large number of Governments during Kieran Coughlan's time as Clerk of the Dáil. It must be incredibly difficult to consider the qualities his successor will be required to bring to the position. I can just imagine the type of advertisement which might be placed in the media. It will probably refer to the need to have a thick skin, being willing to work long hours and possessing an encyclopaedic knowledge of the workings of the Parliament and an ability to work with a wide range of individuals. The person who succeeds the current Clerk will have to do all this and also be a constitutional officeholder of the highest integrity. He or she will have a big pair of shoes to fill.

I wish Kieran Coughlan a healthy and happy retirement. I hope it will be a very long retirement.