Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I want to spend a few minutes paying tribute to the late John Bruton. First, I extend my sincere sympathies to his wife, Finola, their four children, his brother Richard, sister Mary, their families and the extended family, and to the Deputy Leader and Fine Gael Members. I am sure many of them are quite saddened by his passing. He was a man of absolute integrity was very dependable. He was undaunted in his beliefs. He was decent, patriotic and very honourable. He was a man who had a huge interest in the European project. During his time as EU ambassador to the US, he did massive work and gave the United States a better understanding of how important Europe was in many respects.

We should not forget that he was a man who was elected at 22 years of age to Dáil Éireann. That was extraordinary in those times. It just shows how committed he was. I think he doubled his vote in the second election he stood in, so he certainly went down well with the electorate. As has been said here, he was a conservative man and a staunch Catholic. One of the things I always noted about him was that despite that staunchness, he never in his comments, debates or work on Northern Ireland did he use the Catholic flag. In fact, of all the politicians, he was very strong in expressing the fact that Protestant people could not be pushed into a united Ireland. That was extraordinary for a man who held such Catholic views and the minority was under such pressure. Of course he also stood up for Catholics.

Last week, as ill as he was, he went on the "The Joe Finnegan Show" on the local radio station, Shannonside Northern Sound, and paid tribute to his late friend, John Connor, the former Senator and TD. We all knew when we listened to his voice that he was very ill but he was determined to do that at the time for his friend. Even though we knew he was quite ill, little did I think at that stage that we would be paying tribute to him.

Again, as has been mentioned in regard to the divorce referendum, despite his strong Catholicism, he realised that many people in relationships were in desperate situations and that it could not go on. At that time he did a very brave thing and probably was responsible for getting that referendum through, which I accept was by a very tight margin. Again, one would have to say that was something we had to admire him for.

He was a true patriot of Ireland. There is no doubt about that. He is going to be missed by everybody, and his contribution will be noted in the history books. If we go back to the notice of his death, one line in his family's statement stands out for me: "We will miss him greatly." There is no doubt but that right up to the end, John Bruton was pro-family. The best way to move along with things is to have a good family behind you if you had issues or problems. He never lost that and I think that should be acknowledged here today as well. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.