Tributes are flowing in for the former Fianna Fáil TD and Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh, who has died aged 71.

He passed away overnight at Cork University following a short illness.

Mr Walsh was first elected to the Dáil in 1977. He lost his seat in 1981 but won it back in 1982, serving as a Senator for a brief period during that time. 

He was first appointed a junior minister at the Department of Agriculture under Charles Haughey in 1987, and became the senior minister there in 1992 under Albert Reynolds.

That government collapsed in 1994, but Joe Walsh returned to the Department in 1997 under Bertie Ahern, and remained there for another seven years.

Mr Walsh received several international honours for his work, including being made an Officer of The Legion of Honour by the French Government.

He retired from the Dáil in 2007, but returned to public life in 2009 when he was appointed a Public Interest director in Bank of Ireland in the wake of the bank guarantee.

He is survived by his wife and five children.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has paid tribute to Mr Walsh:

In a statement, Taoiseach Enda Kenny says he would like to send his deepest sympathy to Joe's wife, Marie, his family and to the Fianna Fáil party.

Mr Kenny says Joe Walsh was a dedicated representative of the people of Cork South West and a hard-working and committed Minister.

He also paid tribute to his decisive and successful management of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Labour's Cork South West TD Michael McCarthy says Joe Walsh was a true gentleman and an outstanding statesman who served his country and his constituency with conviction and vigour, as well as being an accomplished Food and Agriculture Minister.

In a statement, Joan Burton explains she "served with Joe as a Minister in the Fianna Fáil-Labour coalition between 1992 and 1994. It was during this time that I witnessed at first hand his supreme command of the agriculture and food briefs."

Eddie Downey of the Irish Farmers' Association says Mr Walsh "saw the value of promoting not only Irish coops and agri-business but also strongly encouraged artisan producers at farm level."

Originally published at 10:49am