Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to say to Senator Boyhan that the former Senator, Feargal Quinn, was a very practical man. He knew it was all over for the Progressive Democrats at that stage.I welcome his wife Denise and his family. I would like to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to the late Feargal Quinn. One can only look around the Chamber and see the vast number of Senators and former Senators who are here. I welcome former Senators Maurice Manning, Sean Barrett and Fiach MacConghail. It is not often that we have expressions of sympathy to families that are also attended by former Members so it shows the high esteem in which former Senator Feargal Quinn was held not just in this House but throughout the State.

Feargal Quinn brought a wealth of knowledge from the business community to this Chamber. He did not just bring knowledge from the business end. He brought knowledge from his experience of working in semi-State bodies, including the chairmanship of An Post. He brought all that knowledge into this Chamber and it was of great assistance to Members of this House in making decisions. When Feargal Quinn voted in this Chamber, he did not always vote with the Government and neither did he always vote against it. He always voted based on what he thought was best regardless of whether the Government or his colleagues liked it or not. He voted with his conscience and he voted for what he thought was best for the State.

He is a great loss to Irish society. He loved to tell us the stories about being in the supermarkets helping the customers to pack their trolleys and put their shopping into their cars. That was more to do with finding out what the housekeeper wanted. It was a great way of finding out what she wanted and how fresh the product was so he had first-hand knowledge of his business from meeting customers, getting trolleys for them and helping them to their cars.

He was a very practical man who spoke in very practical terms. It was a great honour to have served in the Chamber with him. I was elected to the Seanad on the same day as Feargal Quinn in 1993. He was a great advocate, as previous speakers have noted, for the retention of this House and played a leading role in that. We can see the amount of legislation he brought through the House. Seventeen Bills is a significant number of Bills for anybody to take through this House. There are probably Ministers who have gone through the Houses without taking any legislation through the Dáil or this House so his value to the State with regard to legislation that has been passed or brought forward is not to be underestimated.

He was a great golfer and loved to play golf in Portmarnock early in the morning with his wife Denise. He often told me that it cleared his head for the day ahead. He sponsored the Oireachtas turkey competition every November or December leading up to Christmas. We used to have a great night in the Dáil restaurant when the Superquinn vouchers were given out. We had many great nights with Feargal Quinn. I, again, wish to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to his wife Denise and his family. May he rest in peace.