Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I must say this is a sad day, but it is also a day of celebration and recognition when we get to say very nice things about our good friend. When we think of words to describe Senator Norris, and many have been mentioned, the word "courage" occurs. What he did over the years took enormous courage.He did use the media when he needed to use the media but he took it on as well. We were all delighted when he won his court cases against the media when it wronged him in 2013. Maybe we need some people of courage to take on social media and the people who operate it in the same way that Senator Norris did back then. I also think of the word "inspiration". Many people who do not have the privilege of being Members of this House have been inspired by the career of probably the greatest Senator in my lifetime.

Another word I would use to describe Senator Norris is "encouragement". I remember when I was first elected here 13 years ago as somebody from the west of Ireland with a disability who was somewhat different and trying to find my feet in this House. Aside from the former leader of this House, Maurice Cummins, the one person who really encouraged me was Senator Norris. He would have a word with you and tell you it was good and that you would make a difference but that you just had to keep at it. He spoke to other great people who were here, one of whom I knew, namely former Senator Sean Barrett. I think about the contributions of Sean Barrett, Feargal Quinn and David Norris in the period from 2011 to 2015. Back then, Senator Norris spoke all the time on the Order of Business. At the end of the day, you could not disagree with him. The one thing I want to thank him for is his decency and friendship. Over the years and certainly in my early years, people such as family members would be up from home. You would ring Miriam Smith to find out whether Senator Norris was around because they wanted to meet him. He never said "No". He always gave of his time. People loved him and we all love him.