Paschal was named 2008 Senator of the Year by the Sunday Business Post.
This was for his ‘steady and non partisan chairing’ of the Oireachtas Sub Committee on Ireland’s Future in Europe. The paper described him as ‘one to be watched’.
The other contender was also from Fine Gael, Eugene Regan who was exceptional during 2008 for raising issues in relation to ethics in public office, the economy and the Lisbon Treaty.