Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before I call on the Leader to announce the business of the day, we will all have been deeply saddened and shocked to hear of the sudden death of our former colleague and friend, a former Member of both the Dáil and the Seanad and of Roscommon County Council, the late John Connor, which Members will have heard about over the weekend. As Members will know, John was involved in a road traffic accident on Saturday and sadly passed away afterwards. A native of County Roscommon, he was an outstanding public servant for the people of Roscommon, whom he served for over a quarter of a century. First elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1981 general election for the Roscommon-East Galway constituency, he went on to serve in this House in 1983, having been nominated to the Seventeenth Seanad by the then Taoiseach, Garret Fitzgerald. He was subsequently elected to the agricultural panel in the following Seanad general election. John was re-elected to the Dáil in the 1989 general election, winning back his seat and heading the poll in the Roscommon constituency. He served in Dáil Éireann until 1997 and then served in this House from 1997 until 2002. During this period, he was also elected to Roscommon County Council in 1999, thereby serving his constituents at both national and local level. As Members will know, he retired from public life, leaving this House in 2002 and the local authority in 2009.

As the Taoiseach said at the weekend, "John had an unwavering commitment to the people of his area and brought a considerable expertise to politics at local and national level." We will all agree with that. As those Members who knew him will be aware, he was a man of keen intellect and a wonderful orator who was very interested in international and European affairs and matters and served on many overseas trips as a Member of the Oireachtas. He was always deeply rooted in agriculture, in his local area and in rural Ireland. If you canvassed him on a Seanad campaign, as some Members of this House did, you certainly got interrogated and questioned not about the weather but about policy, the future of Ireland and your own future as a candidate.He was a very popular man on all sides of the House. We lament his passing. At this very sad time, we think of his family. On my own behalf and on behalf of the Senators, I express our deepest condolences and sympathy to his sisters, Margaret and Anne, his brothers-in-law, Gerry and Brendan, his nephews and all his cousins, relatives, neighbours and friends from the parliamentary community and beyond.

I call on the Acting Leader to outline the Order of Business.