I wish to acknowledge the very sad passing of Eoin Faherty, a man well known to many in this House. Eoin served as a member of staff in the Oireachtas for more than 20 years and retired as a committee clerk. He unexpectedly passed away yesterday. Eoin was well known to many Members of this House and to me in particular as one of the founding members of the Dáil and Seanad rugby team which was set up in the early 1990s when Nelson Mandela asked all Parliaments to come to South Africa to partake in the parliamentary rugby world cup before the Rugby World Cup of 1995. Eoin was a leading member in setting up that team and ensuring it ran for the past 25 years. I am wearing the club tie of the Dáil and Seanad rugby team which was presented to me by Eoin three years ago when I first played for the team as a member of staff. I wish to take this chance to acknowledge his passing. In this House, we often pay tribute to former Senators or Deputies when they pass away but we do not pay enough tribute to members of staff who walked these halls for so long and contributed so much to the life and daily running of the Oireachtas. I acknowledge Eoin's passing and send our deepest sympathies to his wife, Carmel, and his children.

I join the Senator in expressing sympathies to Carmel and all the rest of Eoin's family. He was a gentleman. I, too, played on his rugby team. We won and we lost but we always had fun and Eoin was a big part of all that. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.