Alex White (Labour)

I would like to add my voice and that of the Labour Party to the tributes that have been paid to the former Senator and Deputy Kit Ahern.

I was struck by a point made by Senator Harris, with which I strongly agree, that there is a tendency in our public debate and discourse to almost to write off people at a relatively young age or increasingly at a younger age. In particular in political life, it is important to recall and pay tribute to the enormous contribution of somebody like the former Senator Ahern who joined a new political party at the age of 70. In an age when it is often suggested that politics is an ephemeral entity or is purely characterised by media spin, it is vital that we recall and pay tribute to the enormous contribution of somebody like the former Senator Ahern over many years, not only directly in political life but through the ICA, an extraordinary organisation with huge history and record of public service, as referred to by Senator Fitzgerald and others.

I pass on our condolences to the late Mrs. Ahern's family and her political colleagues in the Progressive Democrats. I noticed that in one interview when the former Senator Ahern was asked about her nomination for election to the Seanad she said, with a mixture of idealism and true practical thinking, that she accepted the nomination that had been given to her to the Seanad for three reasons. She said it was first, as a tribute to the women of Ireland, secondly, as a tribute to herself and, thirdly, to try to create a base for a new north Kerry Fianna Fáil Deputy.

She was a woman who made a huge contribution and it is sad that we are noting her passing today, but her's was a life full of commitment and real, genuine public service. In those circumstances, I am pleased to add my voice to what has been said.