Michael Woods

Once dubbed the "Daniel O'Donnell of Fianna Fail", the outgoing marine minister, Dr Michael Woods, may not have the accent or the voice, but he does have one trait in common with the Donegal singer. When in office, his focus is consistently on performance, rather than personality.

Whereas some of his predecessors appear to have regarded the Marine brief as something of a sinecure, Dr Woods's well-known appetite for work has only increased with time.

A £70 million programme for renewing the whitefish fleet, a £171 million commitment to marine in the National Development Plan, a down-payment on a new marine research vessel, Government approval for a maritime college, a new marine shipping office and fresh legislation to protect the marine environment; these are just some of his achievements during his 21/2 years in the Marine and Natural Resources brief.

Significantly, he has delivered on some, but not all, of the election promises made by his party in 1997.

As several industry interests noted yesterday he has "grown in the estimation of even the most sceptical" within the sector. His penchant for publicity has masked his ability to deliver at the Cabinet table.

"He gave the sector the pedestal it deserved, and he will be missed," Mr Jason Whooley of the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation noted yesterday. It was his second time round: he previously served as marine minister from 1992 to 1993, during which time he gave a significant boost to both research, through establishment of the Marine Institute, and search-and-rescue.

Born in Bray, Co Wicklow, Dr Woods had an impressive academic career, with four university degrees under his belt, before he stood for Fianna Fail in the Dublin North East constituency and took Conor Cruise O'Brien's seat there in 1977.