Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

On behalf of my party and as Leader of the Seanad, I pay tribute to a former Member of the House, the late Pól Ó Foighil. He was a former Fine Gael Senator but also ran for election as an Independent. He was very well known throughout Ireland for his community work and was a community activist in the true sense of the word. He worked for Gaelic affairs and the islands and he invigorated the co-operative movement throughout Connemara.

Pól Ó Foighil was always called "Báinín". The formation of this title provides an interesting anecdote but it is only one little episode in a very crowded life. He lived his life for the public. He began his career as a teacher when he moved to Connemara over 50 years ago and he and his family ran a large guesthouse in Indreabhán near Spiddal. He was very interested in the Aran Islands and set up a wind farm on Inishmaan. He established Irish language schools throughout Connemara and set up group water schemes in the west.

I met Mr. Ó Foighil when he was campaigning for a cable car service from the mainland to Inishbiggle. At the time there was one pupil left in the school on the island. Mr. Ó Foighil and others were seeking to keep the school open and retain its teacher.

Mr. Ó Foighil became a member of Galway County Council and Údarás na Gaeltachta. In 1989 he was elected to the Seanad as a Fine Gael Member on the labour panel and he tried to obtain a Fine Gael nomination to run in 2002. He did not receive the nomination but ran as an Independent. He received many votes and was nearly elected. The Independents are always with us.

Mr. Ó Foighil believed anyone who applied for planning permission in the so-called Gaeltacht areas should be an Irish speaker. I always believed this was a good idea. His view was that the Gaeltacht should not just be a suburban area in which people could live. Mr. Ó Foighil had this planning clause added to the Galway county development plan in so far as it applied to south Connemara.

The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, has paid tribute to Mr. Ó Foighil. It is interesting that Mr. Ó Foighil was ahead of Deputy Ó Cuív in much of the work he did for his own area and the whole western region. He served the Seanad with great distinction. Everybody knew of him and I remember him so well being around the House.

The Cathaoirleach will be interested to note that there was a row in which Mr. Ó Foighil was to be suspended from the House or disrobed of his báinín jacket. Senators who were in the House at the time will know about this. The then Cathaoirleach had to intervene and I believe a compromise was reached. He was allowed to wear the jacket. I know the then Cathaoirleach had some trying times while Mr. Ó Foighil was a Member. However, for Mr. Ó Foighil, working in the Seanad while wearing his báinín jacket epitomised what he was about. As I stated, this is only one aspect of a vast career. He served the public and the community in which he lived and set up his business so well. On behalf of the House, I express our deepest of sympathy to his family.