Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Horkan for recalling the life and service of Dr. Hillery who, as the Senator pointed out, served here in the Seanad. As the Senator will know, we can have those special tributes. It is up to the Leader's office. If Senator Horkan would like to write to the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight, he may. As he will know, we have a new standardised format whereby all Senators who pass away are acknowledged in the Seanad on the next available sitting day and we send a motion from the Seanad to the family as soon as possible afterwards. That is one of the procedures we have but, as the Senator points out, there is also provision for expressions of sympathy on particular occasions. Such expressions have been facilitated by Senator Burke and other Cathaoirleach's in the past. Senator Horkan's suggestion regarding former Senator and Deputy, Dr. Brian Hillery, is a very good one.