Taoiseach Praises Outgoing Attorney General

Rory Brady announced last week that he would not be seeking re-appointment to the Office of the Attorney General.

Mr Brady, who served in the position for five years, accepted an offer to become a visiting fellow at Harvard.

He is expected to return to his legal practice at the Bar in September.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, T.D. paid tribute to the Irish government's top legal adviser last week, and praised the role he was said to have played in advancing the peace process in the North.

"Rory Brady has served the country tirelessly over the past five years," Mr Ahern said.

"He has not only been the longest serving Attorney General in recent decades; in my view he has also been one of the best.

"His work behind the scenes in the Northern Ireland peace process was especially valuable to me in dealing with the many legal and constitutional issues which arose.

"The work of Attorney General is seldom done in the public eye, but it is nevertheless absolutely crucial to the effective functioning of Government.

"Rory Brady has made an exceptional personal contribution to many of the major achievements of the Government in recent years, from the smoking ban, to random breath testing, to safeguarding Irish neutrality in the Nice II referendum," he said.

"I would like to wish him all the best in his future endeavours, and to thank him for the enormous contribution which he has made over these past five years," concluded the Taoiseach.