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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 Apr 2018

Vol. 968 No. 2

Tributes on Retirement of Member of Staff

Before we proceed with business, I wish to recognise Marie Smith in the Gallery. Marie has worked in the Members' Restaurant for the past 40 years. On my behalf and of the Members, I wish Marie a very happy, healthy, joyful and long retirement. Marie started working in the House in 1978, following in the footsteps of her mother, Peggy Redmond, who many of us fondly remember. Peggy ran nuts' corner in the restaurant, and it was more difficult to secure a permanent seat in nuts' corner than it was to secure a seat in this House. I was an apprentice there for some time and eventually, after a long apprenticeship, I secured a seat there. I hope that Marie enjoys her party tonight and will have quality time in the future with her husband Paddy, three children and five grandchildren. Guím gach rath ort agus ar do theaghlach.

I also wish to congratulate and thank Marie. Thirty-two years of service is a long time in this House. Marie is one of my favourite people in Leinster House. She has good taste; she only ever served Fine Gael and Labour tables-----

-----so we know her much better than does the dark side.

She is someone who constantly brings a smile to people's faces in the Members' Restaurant. When one considers both of their service, she and her mother have given 62 years to this House. As far as I am concerned, she is far too young to be retiring from here, and we would like to have her around for much longer. I thank her on behalf of all the Deputies and Senators who got to know her so well. She got to know our awkwardness, our eating habits and so on. Sometimes a menu was not necessary, because she would already know what one was going to order. She is a lovely person and I wish her well. I hope she will get much more time with her family and I am glad for her that she will not have to put up with us any longer. Her work here has been valued. She will be missed. There is enormous warmth towards Marie, which was evident in the build up to her leaving with so many people having taken the time to drop in and thank her for her decades of service here.

I wish her good luck and thank her for her many years of support and charm. It really was appreciated.

I am thrilled to join the tributes. I am very sad to see Marie leaving us. For those who are curious, nuts' corner is now the Labour Party table. I see former Senator Pat Magner, who had a residency at that corner, in the Gallery.

She actually abolished it.

Marie gave amazing service with her mum, who managed nuts' corner. Marie was not as lucky, and she only had to deal with Fine Gael, so she must be well used to awkwardness. She brought great fun and professionalism to the role and took a great interest in all of us. She was not afraid to give us a clip on the back of the head if it was needed, and kind of took on the role of the Dublin mammy for many of the younger Members. I am thrilled that Marie enjoys the health to enjoy the travels around the country and abroad that she will undertake with some of the people sitting with her in the Gallery. I am especially thrilled she will have time with Paddy, Gillian, Tony and Nicola, Caitlin, TJ, Alex, Evan and especially with Cara. I know she will have a lot of fun with all of them but I hope that she does not forget us. I hope Marie comes in every so often to keep us on our toes, and give us the words we need and the clips that we always need. We will always remember Marie, and we remember her mum especially today. It is amazing service from one family to this House, maybe there will be more after Marie. I hope Marie enjoys herself and we also thank all her colleagues who are with her in the Gallery for putting up with us and Marie on our behalf over the last 30 years.

I thank Marie for her service over many years. As others have said, it is extraordinary service on Marie's part and also her family. I hope she has many happy years' retirement with her family, her husband Paddy and her children and grandchildren. Marie's neighbour, Deputy Denise Mitchell wishes her all the best. Regardless of whether Marie was serving Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil or Labour, Denise wants to know how Sinn Féin Deputies will get a lift into Leinster House from now on.

In the two years I have been here, one thing I have learned is how extraordinary the staff are in their courtesy and service and Marie is a perfect example of that. I commend her and wish her all the best.

I am truly delighted to have the opportunity to say a few words about Marie. She has looked after Labour Party tables for many years. There used to be Labour Party tables, plural.

Those who are around as long as I am will remember that Marie's late mum, Peg, and Peg's close associate Isabelle, overlapped Marie's sterling service here.

Marie knows more State secrets and Members' foibles than anybody in these buildings apart, perhaps, from Darren, who may have a slight edge in that regard. She is always the definition of courtesy. She made the dining room a welcoming oasis for all of us. She made it a place where, on the good days, we could relax and, on the bad days, we could put things behind us with her consoling voice and good smile. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle has mentioned nuts' corner. I better explain that. It used to be a table at the edge of the Labour Party tables to which, after the great schism within their party, a number of Fianna Fáil dissidents moved. That was a cause of great angst for many years until Pat Magner became Chairman of the Joint Services Committee and abolished it. For a while, the dissidents tried to sit there but they eventually moved back to the Fianna Fáil side.

In saying farewell to Marie we are saying farewell to a friend and a confidant. Politicians in this place are judged by many - the media, our constituents and our colleagues - but I have always believed that the truest judgments of the worth and calibre of Members are made by the staff of these Houses. They often give the most vigorous and accurate judgments. Marie saw us in all our guises and all our moods. We will miss her greatly. I hope she will not be a stranger and will drop back to check on how Yvonne, Thelma, Willie, Christine and all the rest are doing. I hope she enjoys the four holidays that I know she has planned. From listening to Marie in the past day or two, I know that Caitlin might be here. I get a feeling from listening to Marie that Caitlin might be back - not as somebody working in the restaurant but as Taoiseach.

I too want to salute and pay tribute to Marie Smith, her late mother, Peg, all the team in the restaurant and, indeed, all the staff in the House for the courtesy and kindness shown to all Members, which other speakers have noted, whether we might be picky, pernickety, awkward or in good form. Marie gave us a fáilte speisialta inside in the restaurant. I knew nothing about the nutty table but I now know what is wrong with the Labour Party. I knew nothing about that table. That was before my time. Marie's smile, gregarious warmth and the way she was always helpful made everybody feel so welcome at all times. It was great to compare notes on her grandchildren and my own. I hope that she will be able to come back with her grandchildren occasionally. I know how much she loves her family, her husband Paddy, her children and, most especially, her grandchildren. She adores them. Any of us who are privileged to have grandchildren adore them greatly. They give us great joy. I hope Marie will enjoy them now and will enjoy her time with her family and everything else. She should not mind Deputy Howlin about the number of holidays she is taking. She should take it one day at a time. Go n-éirí go geal léi.

That completes the tributes to Marie Smith. We all wish her well.

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