Gerard Collins (UFE, Munster) was elected Vice-President of the European Parliament, to fill the vacancy left following the death of Antonio Lucas Pires, a Portuguese MEP and member of the EPP group. Mr Collins is only the third Irish MEP to have been elected to the post of Vice-President in the 19 years since the first European Parliament elections; his predecessors were Paddy Lalor and Mark Clinton. A Vice-President is a member of Parliament's Bureau.