Maurice gave a lifetime of dedicated public service to the people of Ireland, North and South, from his early days as a civil servant assisting the work of the short-lived power-sharing Executive in 1974, as Permanent Secretary of the NI Department of Health, as Northern Ireland Ombudsman, and as a public representative in Seanad Éireann in later years.
Perhaps his most significant contribution was in bringing about a new policing dispensation for Northern Ireland through his work for the Patten Commission, one of the enduring legacies of the Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement.
A committed European, his was a generous, inclusive and forward-looking vision for the people of Ireland. His advice and counsel were sought out by generations of officials and political leaders working to build peace and prosperity on our island, including many of my own predecessors as Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as successive Taoisigh. His was an always tolerant, always constructive, always wise voice and it will be sadly missed.
I would like to extend my condolences to his family and friends at this sad time.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.