Brian has been a great colleague and has excelled in his time at the Department of Finance and here in Brussels as a member of the Econ committee defending and defining Ireland’s economic position.

I wish him the very best in his retirement from political life. He will be missed in the European Parliament. Brian and I were both elected to the Dail in 1997 and also both elected to the European Parliament in 2014. We have worked very well together over the last few years and I congratulate him on a very successful 25 years in political life.