Former Fine Gail TD for Waterford and Minster
for Agriculture Austin Deasy has died following a short illness. He was 80.
He served as a TD for Waterford from 1977 until
he retired in 2002 to be replaced by his son John who has been returned in each
General Election since he was first elected.
He was born in Dungarvan in 1936 and was
educated locally and then at University College Cork after which he became a
teacher where he taught at Saint Augustine’s College in Dungarvan.
He joined Fine Gael in the mid 1960’s and was
elected a member of Dungarvan Town Council.
Former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave nominated him to
the Seanad before he was elected a TD in 1977.
In 1982 Garret Fitzgerald appointed him to the
Cabinet as Minister for Agriculture where he remained until the Government fell
in 1987.
He resigned from the party temporarily in 1988
when the then Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes when it was decided that Fine Gael
would not oppose economic developments purposed by the minority Fianna Fail
Party, but returned to the Parties Front Bench when John Bruton took over as
leader in 1991.
Mr. Deasy died earlier today at University
Hospital Waterford.
Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar who has strong Dungarvan
connections has expressed his
condolences to the Deasy family following the news.
Mr. Varadkar said Mr. Deasy was "well
loved and respected by the people of Waterford whom he was proud to
represent".
