I know that Deputies on all sides of the House will join with me in expressing the sympathy of Dáil Éireann to the relatives of those who were lost in the air disaster at London Airport. We are all conscious of the personal bereavements suffered by the families of the victims. Indeed many Deputies, having come to know these men in the course of their public life and duties, share the sense of personal loss. The nation has suffered a grievous loss in having such a wealth of talent, experience and dedication snatched away in such sudden and tragic circumstances. These men had in various ways helped to stamp the character of modern Ireland, an Ireland purposefully earning progress through industrial and commercial achievement at home and overseas. They died in harness on a mission of national significance. They were on their way to Brussels as an advance party leading the way for our practical participation in the business life of the European Community. Each one of them has in has field enhanced the economic wealth of the nation. The dynamism and vision which characterised their careers provide an example and a spur for those who must now take their places and take up the task of leadership.
One of their most significant achievements as a body and individually was the mood of mutual respect established between them and the Irish trade union movement, their partner in the national effort towards economic progress. It is for all of us a valuable inheritance. I offer sympathy also to the respective organisations and firms of which the deceased were members. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.