Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

It was a sign of the respect he had achieved throughout the country among council colleagues. He had strong convictions and a strong connection with his faith and believed that many decisions taken in the 1980s by our party and others were not the best ones. He held those views until the end, was sincere in his convictions and did not mollify his views to suit the trends of the time.

He was passionate about the European Union. He was a dedicated member of the EU Council, believing passionately in the European project on which he spoke here regularly. I admit I was one of the parachutists who came into the Dublin South-West constituency but he was very kind to me when I eventually managed to win the seat for our party in 1997 and then lose it in 2002. The late Senator McMahon was the second person to call to commiserate with me in 2002 and I will never forget that kindness to me and my family at that time. I greatly appreciate all the wisdom and experience he shared with me over that difficult time when I was deciding whether to remain in full-time politics. I sympathise with Lorcan, Ronan, Ciarán, Conor, Niamh and Claire and his sister, Sister Pascal. The family has lost a great father and a great brother. The country and our party have lost a loyal public servant. It is only right and fitting that the House takes this opportunity of reflecting on Larry's public service, on his belief in his political party and his belief in democracy; his service will be looked up to as the years go by.

I extend the sympathy of my Fine Gael colleagues in this House to the McMahon family at this difficult time.