Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has paid tribute to former Fianna Fáil Dublin TD Michael Barrett, who has died at the age of 79.
Mr Barrett, who was a deputy for Dublin North West between 1981 and 1992, was born in Co Roscommon. He emigrated to England and then returned to Ireland, where he settled in the Glasnevin/Ballymun area. He worked at the Abbotstown farm and laboratory complex for An Foras Talúntais.
Mr Ahern said Mr Barrett, a member of Dublin City Council and the Eastern Health Board, was "dedicated to the welfare of his constituents".
"Michael Barrett was a politician who had left public life before the Celtic tiger arrived," Mr Ahern said.
"His concern as a politician was to meet the basic needs of his constituents during a time of high unemployment and emigration.
"He own background equipped him to understand those needs, and he worked all his political life to ease the hardship of those in need."
A devout Catholic, he was a strong supporter of the anti-abortion referendum in 1983.
He was also seen as a loyalist to the then Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey.
He is survived by his wife, Connie, and daughter Susan.