Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Boyhan. I first met him 22 years ago outside the Old Punch Bowl on the Rock Road, Booterstown, County Dublin. We had just bought a house on Trimleston Avenue and Victor approached me as I pushed a buggy containing my two-month-old baby. Victor said to me, "You are new to the area, aren't you?" and I said, "That is right." I told him that we lived on Trimleston Avenue and Victor asked me, "Which side of Trimleston Avenue because that is where the boundary is?" So, once he was assured that I lived in the catchment, Victor explained to me his campaign and programme even though I was new to the area. I have met Victor over the years and he has been a great local representative. He has given 22 years of public service as a local representative and has worked so hard on the part of his constituents in Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown. He has given six years, as described eloquently by Senator Higgins, of dedicated service to the Seanad. I echo what the Senator said about Victor's absolute commitment to fair play and participation, and his attention to detail on all of the processes and procedures that run through here.

I was elected to this House in March of this year and Senator Boyhan rang my phone the following morning at 9.05. He said to me, "You're new to this House", which is an echo of what he had said to me 22 years earlier and he invited me to become a part of the Seanad Independent Group. Victor, as leader of that group, is impartial, fair and completely independent. The group is a technical group and we are not ideologically aligned so we have had many robust exchanges with each other in here. What we have within the group is a respect for the views of others. So even if one does not agree with somebody, as Plato, Aristotle and all of the philosophers would say, disagreement is the engine for truth and it is about engagement. Victor is exemplar of that independent, impartial spirit and that commitment to participatory democracy, debate and disagreement, which are healthy things.

Those of us who know Victor's life story know that he is an example of somebody who has triumphed over adversity. He is a great example of citizenship in this Republic-----