In the midst of the general election campaign, an old political soldier passed away in his native Clare at the age of 76. The late Sylvester Barrett was held in high esteem by the community and people of County Clare whom he served in public life as a member of Dáil Éireann and the European Parliament. He inherited a rich tradition of public service and patriotism from his father, Frank, who had been commandant in the mid-Clare brigade of the Old IRA, and as a member of Clare County Council. Sylvester Barrett entered politics in 1968 on the occasion of a by-election caused by the death of Deputy Bill Murphy. He was elected in the general election of the following year and topped the poll for the revised constituency of Clare-South Galway. In 1977, he was appointed Minister for the Environment by Jack Lynch and among the decisions he took was to make the wearing of seat belts compulsory, the introduction of the breathalyser test and many others related to safety.
He subsequently served as Minister for Defence and Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works under Mr. Haughey. It was in the latter capacity that he declared the Burren a national park. In 1984, he was elected to the European Parliament. He did not seek re-election in 1987 and retired from the European Parliament in 1989. Throughout his life, Sylvester Barrett was a committed member of the Fianna Fáil Party and as a mark of the esteem in which he was held, he was appointed honorary president of the Fianna Fáil organisation in County Clare.
Sylvester Barrett was a keen sportsperson. He had a particular passion for greyhounds and horse racing. He would be known to many people in this House and continued to have an enormous interest in the work of the House. He was a man who had wide interests and many friends and he worked hard for the people he represented. He believed in public service and whether in Dublin or Brussels, he never forgot the people he was elected to serve in Clare.
I want to take the opportunity to express my sincere sympathies and the sincere sympathies of the Fianna Fáil Party to Sylvester's wife, Mary, his sons, Frank, Joe, Syl and Tom, his brother, Frank, and his sisters, Anna and Sister Gertrude. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.