Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I would like to extend my sympathies to the Bruton family, Finola and our colleague, Richard. Whenever death comes, it comes suddenly, even if there is a long lead into it. We are never prepared for it. It is no secret that I grew up in a staunch Fine Gael family. My father was a blueshirt to his marrow. He was a sadly misguided man who drove me into the Fine Gael Party as a young man. Until I was enlightened in 2012, I stayed in the Fine Gael Party.

My abiding memory of John Bruton is of VAT on children's shoes. I remember how in Limerick, when I was a member of the branch, the Government fell. I remember the craic at that time. It was amazing. It was it was good fun because it was a Limerick man who was at the heart of that as well.

I will mention one of the things that amazed me about John. I never met the man in my life, and I only saw the man from a distance. I was not aware of how far-seeing he was, and how intuitive he was with respect to issues such as security, until I came across a speech he made in 2019. The things he pointed out were ironic. He spoke about the vulnerability of gas pipelines. Who would have thought in 2019 that five years later a gas pipeline would be blown up in the North Sea? He spoke about cyber threats. He spoke about the need for maritime surveillance. He spoke about all the things I find myself speaking about in this House on a regular basis. Yet, I have never seen John Bruton in that particular sphere. When I looked this up, I found myself wondering if we would be in the disastrous state we are in today with our security services, had John Bruton been re-elected in 1997.For me, he epitomised the Fine Gael Party my father loved and drove us all into. I remember the craic in the house back in the day when Charlie Haughey would appear on the television. My brother would turn to my father and say, "Charlie Haughey, praised be his name" and my father would leap off the chair, fit to be tied because of an attack on the Fine Gael Party he loved.

Sadly, John has left us. He has left us with a legacy and I hope the party that my father loved will look back at the legacy of John Bruton and embrace it. For Fine Gael, he was a great man. I need to put on the record that I had some enlightenment in 2012 and resigned my position in the party and became an Independent but I still love most of you dearly.