Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the students from Carlow Educate Together who are here.

Members will be aware a good friend of all of us in the parliamentary community, Michael O'Regan, passed away at the weekend. He died suddenly on Sunday. He was a former parliamentary reporter, political analyst, author and broadcaster, lately of The Irish Times. He grew up in Blennerville, west Kerry. Newspapers, books and poetry were a constant feature of his life. That resulted in him pursuing journalism, in which he had a long, varied and accomplished career. He was a well-known voice across radio and television and a respected political journalist. He won a national journalism award in 1980 and joinedThe Irish Timesin 1981. His coverage of the Kerry babies tribunal stood out at the time and still does as a mark of his journalistic skill and compassion.

To all of us in this House, he was a familiar face and voice in the corridors, halls and canteen of Leinster House. He was more than familiar with this place. He was a Dáil reporter appointed in 1988 and a central part of the coverage of The Irish Times until his retirement in 2019. Michael earned the respect of all of us through his integrity and saying it as it was. He loved politics but, perhaps more importantly, he loved being with politicians, talking and swapping stories with us and having a bit of craic. He had a great sense of the importance of the political system, of parliamentary democracy and of its value. He had wonderful insight, knowledge and perspective on political life. As politicians, we might not always have agreed with him. We could have a bit of banter as well as disagreement, but he was always respectful, good-humoured and full of wit.

Michael loved Kerry and on Radio Kerry his "Call from the Dáil" became synonymous with him and his life in Leinster House. Our former colleague and friend, the late Senator Paul Coghlan, who was a founding shareholder of Radio Kerry, took great delight in having Michael on the radio. If Paul got a mention on the "Call from the Dáil" slot, it was like winning the lotto. To Michael's family and friends, in particular Elizabeth, his daughters Deirdra and Alyson, his grandchildren and his siblings, we extend our deepest sympathies. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. At the end of the Order of Business, we will hold a minute's silence for our friend Michael O'Regan.