Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I stand today for one purpose, and that is to second Senator Wilson's proposal that this House play an active role in ensuring that Garda Jeremiah Coonan receives the Scott medal for bravery. I think it is an oversight. Anybody who saves a human life does something unique and precious, and something that really and truly is an act of humanity. In this case, Garda Coonan risked his life and went into a river not knowing the conditions, undercurrents and circumstances; not knowing the man who was in the river, his make-up or how heavy he was; or what the circumstances of his entering the river were. It is not good enough that a person like that, who just hands his coat and his radio to somebody and tells them that he is going to go in and rescue the man and is not going to let him die in the river, has not been recognised for successfully, with the help of others, taking the man's body out of the river and resuscitating him and reviving him, all of which resulted in the man living. To think he has not received the Scott medal, for whatever reason, is not good enough. It is a wrong that needs to be righted. I request that the Acting Leader asks the Leader to write to the Garda Commissioner in support of Senator Wilson's proposal and correspondence to the effect that Garda Coonan is awarded the Scott medal for bravery. I also very much welcome the Cathaoirleach's proposal that he and the Ceann Comhairle can assist in giving due recognition to an heroic act of bravery. It is never too late to do the right thing. The right thing in this case is that this person, Garda Jeremiah Coonan, is recognised. The fact that he is a brother of former Deputy Noel Coonan, a good friend of many of us here and a former Member of the House, is incidental, but it reflects the fact that the Coonan family put the service of people and their community above and beyond everything else. What Jeremiah Coonan did speaks volumes and needs to be recognised.