Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

On behalf of my Fine Gael colleagues in this House, I express my sincere sympathy to the Fianna Fáil Party throughout the country and particularly to Seán Doherty's wife, Maura, and their four daughters. Last week I visited Cootehall, a stunning part of the country which I had never previously visited. I saw there the affection in which Seán Doherty was held and witnessed the respect shown to him by his local community of north Roscommon and of large parts of Leitrim — I understand that the Dohertys originally came from County Leitrim. Seán's death is a terrible tragedy for the Doherty family.

One of the great qualities of a politician is knowing when to get out of politics, when to pick one's own time of departure rather than have other people choose it. Seán Doherty had that quality. It reflects well on him that after 25 years between both Houses, he realised he had done his service and chose his own time of departure. It is difficult therefore to come to terms with the fact that so few years later, he has tragically died at the very young age of 60, after a very short retirement. Having spoken to some of his family members last week, I know that his latter years were the happiest of his life, and that he was enjoying life as never before with his family and all the people of his area. His passing is so much more tragic when one considers the age at which he died.

Seán Doherty was clearly a controversial figure in Irish politics, particularly in the early 1980s. I discovered last week that he was only 38 when he became Minister for Justice, and was probably one of the youngest Ministers of the time. Much of the comment about his political activity has been critical. I will not dwell on that, but the Government at that time was out of control, so it is unfair to only blame Seán Doherty. He did the State a great service some years later when he decided to tell the country what had happened, and refused to continue carrying the can, as he had to do for so long. As Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, he understood the controversy that was brewing. A short time later he resigned his office, refusing to allow the position of Cathaoirleach to be embroiled in the controversy. That was the right action to take. Seán understood that the Cathaoirleach of this House holds an important constitutional office.

In recent years, Seán Doherty was, in a sense, rehabilitated in politics. All sides of the House held him in great esteem and affection. He was rightly proud of his work on the DIRT inquiry with people like Deputy Rabbitte and the late Deputy Jim Mitchell. As the Leader said, his superb intellect was recognised and he made a significant contribution to that committee. We should not forget that the DIRT inquiry was important in terms of showing the people that parliamentarians can get to the root of problems and sort them out rather than hiving them off to tribunals or the courts.

Seán Doherty will be remembered as a great raconteur, storyteller and character. I got to know him in recent years. He will be sorely missed, not just within the Fianna Fáil Party, his community and family, but within politics in general. We offer our sympathy to his wife, his daughters and his wider family. We should remember his passing.