Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In his major contribution to the media and to sport, he never forgot that he was from Cork and always retained that Cork accent that was very important in any presentations he made, no matter what it was, be it current affairs or sport. I pay tribute to the contribution he has made and sympathise with his family, as he will be greatly missed on his passing.

On the equality referendum, like everyone else I pay tribute to the Yes Equality campaign. On the night before the vote, it was interesting to see more than 700 people working in Cork city as they distributed leaflets and worked on the campaign. It was a huge contribution that people made to democracy. The debate that took place within families was very interesting and was summed up for me when I knocked on a door and thought I was disturbing a party. The person who answered had a pint glass in his hand and stated he was voting "No" but that they were all at him, because while there was a party under way there also was a major debate. The great thing about this referendum was the debate within families and how people voted for what they believed in firmly, whether on the "Yes" side or the "No" side.That was the great contribution of this referendum to democracy. Likewise, I hope that people will look at the issues in a very fair and balanced way and come to their own decisions, whether it is in a referendum, local election or general election. That was a very important part of the debate in this case.