Former minister Gerard Collins dies aged 88

Former Fianna Fáil minister and MEP Gerard Collins has died aged 88.

Mr Collins served as minister for foreign affairs, minister for justice and minister for posts and telegraphs. He served as TD for Limerick West from 1967 to 1997.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that he was "deeply saddened" to learn of Mr Collins' death, calling him a "good friend".

In a statement, Mr Martin said that Mr Collins "served with great distinction and ability".

"During his many decades of public service, Gerard Collins made an enormous contribution to Irish public life," he said.

"He was a politician of great substance and ability, who was in public life for all the right reasons: to serve and improve his country. He was a highly effective minister and was one of a generation of Irish public representatives who served with great selflessness and who left an enormous footprint."

The Taoiseach said that Mr Collins had a "critically important role in Fianna Fáil, a contribution he continued to make after his retirement from politics", adding that he served as the party's honorary secretary for many years and provided "great leadership and service" to him as party leader.

Mr Martin offered his sympathies to Mr Collins' widow Hilary and to his family.

Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan also expressed his condolences to Mr Collins’ family and said he was "a fearless minister for justice during very difficult times".

His nephew Niall Collins is a Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick and the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The Taoiseach pointed to Mr Collins time as justice minister and said he had protected the State during a time of real threats and also introduced reforms.

Mr Collins was first elected to the Dáil in 1967 in the by-election to replace his father James Collins.

He secured up to 14,000 first preference votes in that election and he would go on to hold the seat for the next three decades.

Mr Collins was one of the key figures in his party for much of the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

These were often fraught times both within Fianna Fáil and the country.

His famous plea to Charlie Haughey's then challenger Albert Reynolds not to "bust up the party" has entered political folklore.

Niall Collins TD described the death of his uncle as "very sad".

"He was a huge influence on my life", Mr Collins said.

Mr Collins said that he had visited his uncle in the hospice in Tralee yesterday, adding that he was very close with all of his nephews and nieces.

He said that even after his retirement his uncle remained an influential policital figure.

"He'll be hugely missed," Mr Collins said.