John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

We will always know the year of Senator Phelan's birth. He was my friend and colleague for 31 years, which is a long time. I concur with the remarks that were made about him. There were many turbulent periods during our early days in this House but he was one of the few people who held a steady hand irrespective of how rough the waters were. That stood to him, as the Minister's comments about the formation of the Government indicate. He was definitely the good cop when it came to that kind of situation. He is a tremendous loss not only to his family and wider circle of relatives but also to this House and the country as a whole. It must have been sad for the Taoiseach to accept Séamus's decision not to continue in the Cabinet. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.