Former Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West Derek Keating has died aged 67.
A native of Ballyfermot, he moved to Palmerstown and then Lucan, where he lived for the last 25 years. Mr Keating was elected to South Dublin County Council on three occasions and represented Dublin Mid-West in the Dáil between 2011 and 2016.
Mr Keating had an eclectic political career. He was active in Fianna Fáil in the 1980s but by the early 1990s was a member of the Progressive Democrats, before joining Fine Gael in 2008.
During his political career he spoke out about a “culture of dependency” on welfare and criticised members of Garda representative associations for not “putting on a uniform” and going to work.
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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Mr Keating was “a hard-working public representative” who was rooted in his community.
“Derek’s illness and untimely death reminds all of us of how precious our time on earth is. Derek made the most of it,” he said in a statement.
The former Labour TD for Dublin Mid-West, Cllr Joanna Tuffy, said she “shared a political journey with Derek from the time we were both elected to South Dublin County Council in 1999 for the Lucan electoral area”.
“At his peak, Derek was phenomenal local vote getter. He achieved 4,146 votes in the 2009 local elections which was 26.88 per cent of the vote in the Lucan electoral area,” she said. “Derek worked very hard for his area and constituency. He was much loved by local residents. He was very affable and kind and very committed to making things better through politics and community work.”
Mr Keating is survived by his wife Anne, their two daughters and extended family.
