Tributes were paid to Mr Feargal Quinn (Ind) on his election to head a global supermarket association with combined retail and supplier sales exceeding US$1,000 billion. Mr Quinn, who is chief executive of the Superquinn chain, was elected chairman of CIES at the general meeting of members, in Singapore last Saturday. He will head the organisation, which has more than 200,000 stores and employs three million people worldwide, for the next two years.
The leader of the House, Mr Donie Cassidy, on behalf of the Seanad, congratulated Mr Quinn on his elevation. It brought great honour and distinction to the House, as Mr Quinn did to his own industry, he said. Mr Quinn's fellow Independent, Mr Joe O'Toole, described his colleague's success as a signal honour.