The Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, has led the tributes to the former TD, minister and MEP, Mrs Eileen Desmond (72), who died on Thursday night.
Mr Rabbitte said Mrs Desmond was a woman of enormous personal and political courage and was regarded with respect and affection throughout the Labour movement.
From Kinsale, Co Cork, Mrs Desmond was Minister for Health and Social Welfare in Labour's 1981 coalition with Fine Gael.
"When she was first elected in the Mid-Cork by election in 1965, following the death of her husband Dan, at 32 she was one of the youngest members of the Dáil," Mr Rabbitte said. "Indeed, her success in that by-election forced the dissolution of the 17th Dáil. Eileen Desmond retained her seat in the subsequent general election and remained a major figure in the Labour Party and in public life until poor health forced her retirement from the Dáil in 1987."
Mr Rabbitte said that Mrs Desmond also served with distinction in the Seanad and the European Parliament and had been an important member of the Labour Party delegation to the New Ireland Forum in the 1980s.
He added: "At all times she fearlessly followed her conscience and her political instincts. For her, the determining factor was whether a position was right or wrong, not how popular it might prove with the public."
The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, described Mrs Desmond as an outspoken and courageous politician who had served with equal distinction in the Dáil, Seanad and European Parliament. "Eileen Desmond was a major figure in Irish public life in the late 1970s and early 1980s and enjoyed the distinction of being appointed the first ever female Minister for Health in July 1981."
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Martin, said that Mrs Desmond had made a major contribution to public life. "She was a compassionate and vigorous campaigner for the less-well-off in society and she made a huge contribution to her local community, city and county."
Mr Simon Coveney, the Fine Gael MEP and TD, said that people in Cork remembered Mrs Desmond with great admiration and respect for her work.
"Eileen had a remarkably successful career in public life, which is a testament to the warmth and affection in which she was held in Cork. Her passing will be met with great sorrow by the many people that she touched," he added.
Mr Dan Boyle, the Green Party TD, paid tribute to Mrs Desmond's historic contribution to politics. "She was the first female Minister for Health and the second woman to be made a member of the Irish Cabinet," he said.
