I pay a warm tribute to a near neighbour of mine in County Clare who tragically lost his life in the Ethiopian Airlines crash last Sunday morning. Michael "Mick" Ryan, was an official with the United Nations. He was a qualified engineer. He worked on the UN World Food Programme for the past few years. He worked extensively in Africa over the past decade or so. He had been in the most ravaging and terrible conditions that face humanity in this world. He worked in Ethiopia, Kenya and Afghanistan. He worked in Bangladesh with the Rohingya refugees, probably the most deprived people on our planet. Michael was a person who wanted to change the world and believed that one person can make a difference in helping change the world and shape our future in a better way for all of humanity. He practised what a lot of people preach. He put his life in danger by going into the worst possible scenarios.

He worked on flood relief projects. He worked in areas where there were landslides. When he came home to Cork, where he was married and had two children, he gave advice on dealing with flood relief there. It is absolutely shocking for the people of Ennistymon and Lahinch that Michael has lost his life in such tragic circumstances. However, we and his family can be extremely proud of the enormous contribution he has made to this world. I would like to express my sympathies and the sympathies of the people of County Clare to his wife, his two young children, his mother, Christine, his sisters, Siobhán and Christine, his brother, Tiarnán, all his friends and family, the people he worked with in the UN, his friends and family in Clare and Cork and indeed the people he helped throughout the world who will mourn his loss.

I am sure we would all like to be associated with the Senator's comments on the very tragic circumstances of Mr. Ryan's demise. It just shows how we all are corks in the ocean. I offer my sympathy to his family on this very sad occasion.

I, too, would like to be associated with the comments of Senator Conway on Michael Ryan. It is an absolutely tragic loss for his wife and children and his mother, who spoke amazingly well yesterday on television and on the radio. She showed great composure in acknowledging the great work he had been doing. I know Lahinch and Ennistymon quite well. I had occasion yesterday to meet the Kenyan ambassador and pass on my sympathies. Kenya was the country with the largest loss of life from this tragic incident.

In respect of the airlines, I understand that Ryanair, which is our country's largest airline in terms of aircraft, will be taking delivery of this particular model, one next month, two in May and two in June and onwards. Ryanair has an order for 150 of them. I am certainly not trying to get into a row with Michael O'Leary or anyone else but, whatever the glitch, it does seem more than a coincidence that we have had two brand new aircraft of this model seemingly being lost in very similar circumstances just as they take off. Hopefully Boeing and the aviation world can get to grips with this. We have all flown on 737s over the years and they are a particularly safe aircraft generally. I ask that this be done.

In respect of Brexit, it does not look like this deal is going to pass. The European Research Group, ERG, members are saying they are not supporting it. It is not enough for them. The British Attorney General has said it improves it but not enough. Whatever concerns we might have had about the deal that was announced last night are probably not going to come to pass because it does not look like the deal is going to pass. I wish Sinn Féin luck in getting the Taoiseach into the Dáil. I think he is halfway to Washington at this stage. I would be surprised if he were able to come back just for Senator Conway-Walsh or any of her colleagues.

You never know.

The Senator has great powers of persuasion. Senator Horkan should not underestimate her.