Member of Parliament for St Catherine South West, Everald Warmington waxed lyrical Tuesday as he paid glowing tribute to retired Clerk to the Houses of Parliament, Valrie Curtis, during the sitting of the House of Representatives.

The usually combative Warmington showered Curtis with praise during her absence, noting that “She was committed and dedicated to her work and went beyond the call of duty to make sure that every Member of Parliament was comfortable in this House”.

He then compared her to former clerk, Edley Deans.

The legendary Deans served as assistant clerk of the legislature in 1956. He then served as deputy clerk of the independent Parliament from 1968 to 1978 and was appointed clerk to the Houses in 1978.

Deans retired as clerk to the houses in 1994 and then went on to serve as a consultant to the Parliament on parliamentary practice and procedures until 2002. In 1982, Deans was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander for his service to the Parliament.

Said Warmington: “I came here first in 1980 and I met the greatest clerk of the House, that was Edley Deans. The knowledge that I have acquired as it relates to parliamentary procedures and the standing orders, I learned that from Edley Deans who I believe was the greatest clerk that this House has seen.”

READ: Former Clerk to the Houses of Parliament, Edley Deans has died

Continuing, Warmington said “I will not hesitate that I believe Valrie Curtis can be compared to Edley Deans in her work, her standard and her professionalism.

“I want to thank her for the service she has given to Jamaica and to this house. I want to say I am confident that it will be difficult for anyone coming after her to fill her shoes and to be as outstanding and as great a clerk as she was”.

“I hope that after her, the staff and all …will enjoy that type of camaraderie and respect for each other and a good working atmosphere,” he added. “I want to say thanks to her for that good service she gave and I hope that others will try to emulate her so that they can do as good a job, or [as] close a job as Valrie Curtis did for this house and this country.”

Curtis retired under controversial circumstances on April 6 after serving the Parliament for almost 30 years. She was publicly reprimanded by the Speaker of the House, Juliet Holness, reportedly for not complying with her directions as to how reports from the Auditor General’s Department should be tabled in the Parliament.

READ: House Clerk Valrie Curtis to retire

Curtis has stated in a newspaper interview that she complied fully with the speaker’s directive.

Political commentators have described the speaker’s action as unprecedented and the Opposition People’s National Party has repeatedly urged Holness to withdraw the letter and apologise to Curtis.

Interestingly, Holness herself paid glowing tribute to Curtis on Tuesday but did not apologise nor withdraw the letter. She has faced further criticism since.

READ: Holness pays tribute to Curtis but refuses to withdraw letter of reprimand or apologise