Fine Gael (Irish pronunciation: [ˈfʲɪnʲə ˈɡeːl̪ˠ] – meaning "Family" or "Tribe of the Irish") is a centre-right^[4][5][6][7] to centrist^[8][9][10] political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament.^[11] The party has a membership of over 35,000,^[12] and is presently the senior partner governing in a coalition with the Labour Party, with the Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny serving as Taoiseach. Enda Kenny has led the party since 2002.^[13]

Fine Gael was founded on 8 September 1933^[14] following the merger of its parent party Cumann na nGaedheal, the National Centre Party and the National Guard, popularly known as the "Blueshirts" (a name still used colloquially to refer to the party). Its origins lie in the struggle for Irish independence and the pro-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War, identifying in particular Michael Collins as the founder of the movement.^[15]

Fine Gael is generally considered to be more on the political right in comparison to its more centrist rival, Fianna Fáil,^[4] but Fine Gael has never governed Ireland without the Labour Party, a social-democratic party on the centre-left of Irish politics. Fine Gael describes itself as a "party of the progressive centre" conforming strongly to the ideals of Christian democracy and compassionate centrism, and is often seen as being moderate on social issues but conservative as regards economics.^[16][17] The party lists its core values as equality of opportunity, fiscal rectitude, free enterprise and reward, individual rights and responsibilities.^[18] It is strongly in favour of the European Union and opposed to physical force republicanism. The party's youth wing, Young Fine Gael, was formed in 1977, and has approximately four thousand members.^[19] Fine Gael is a founding member of the European People's Party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International.

History[link]

Ideology and policies[link]

Michael Collins, founding father of the pro-Treaty movement that would become Fine Gael.

Law and order party[link]

Although Ireland's political spectrum was traditionally divided along Civil War lines, rather than the traditional European left-right spectrum, Fine Gael is described generally as a centre-right, Christian democratic party, with a focus on law and order, enterprise and reward, and fiscal rectitude.^[20] As the descendent of the pro-Treaty factions in the Irish Civil War, Fine Gael has a strong affinity with Michael Collins and his legacy. He remains a symbol for the party, and the anniversary of his death is commemorated each year in August.^[21]

Economically liberal[link]

Fine Gael has, since its inception, portrayed itself as a party of fiscal rectitude and minimal government interference in economics, advocating pro-enterprise policies. Newly elected politicians for the party in the Dáil have strongly advocated liberal economic policies. Lucinda Creighton and Leo Varadkar in particular have been seen as strong advocates of a neoliberal approach to Ireland's economics woes and Ireland's unemployment problems.^[22] Varadkar in particular has been a strong proponent of small, indigenous business, advocating that smaller firms should benefit from the government's recapitalisation program^[23] Its former finance spokesman Richard Bruton's proposals have been seen as approaching problems from a pro-enterprise point of view. Its fairer budget website suggests that its solutions are "tough but fair".^[24] Other solutions conform generally to conservative governments' policies throughout Europe, focusing on cutting numbers in the public sector, while maintaining investment in infrastructure.

Fine Gael's proposals have been criticised mostly by smaller political groupings in Ireland, and by some of the trade unions, who have raised the idea that the party's solutions are more conscious of business interests than the interests of the worker. The SIPTU trade union has stated its opposition to Enda Kenny's assertion that the national wage agreement should be suspended. Kenny's comments have support however and the party attributes its significant rise in polls in 2008 to this.^[25] In spite of this perceived opposition to Fine Gael from the left of the Irish political spectrum, the party, due to Dáil arithmetic, has never entered into national government without the backing of the Labour Party.

Under Kenny the party has also strongly opposed the perceived "rip-off" society that has developed in Ireland, advocating reform of stealth taxes and stamp duty.^[26]

Economic policies[link]

Fine Gael's Simon Coveney launched what the party termed a radical re-organisation of the Irish Semi-State Company sector. Styled the New Economy and Recovery Authority (or NewERA), Coveney said that it is an economic stimulus plan that will "reshape the Irish economy for the challenges of the 21st Century".^[27] Requiring an €18.2 billion investment in Energy, Communications and Water infrastructure over a four year period, it was promoted as a way to enhance energy security and digital reputation of Ireland. A very broad ranging document, it proposes the combined management of a portfolio of semi-state assets, and the sale of all other, non-essential services. The release of equity through the sale of the various state resources, including electricity generation services belonging to the ESB, Bord na Móna and Bord Gáis, in combination with use of money in the National Pensions Reserve Fund, is the means by which Fine Gael is proposing to fund its national stimulus package.^[28]

The plan is a seen at being the basis of a Fine Gael program for government. Seen as being the longer term contribution to Fine Gael's economic plan, it has been publicised in combination with a more short term policy proposal from FG TD, Dr. Leo Varadkar. This document, termed "Hope for a Lost Generation", promises to bring 30,000 young Irish people off the Live Register in a year by combining a National Internship Program, a Second Chance Education Scheme, an Apprenticeship Guarantee and Community Work Program, as well as instituting a German style, Workshare program.^[29]

Commentary on the FG's economic proposals has generally been positive from some economic commentators including Eddie Hobbs and David McWilliams who have praised the proposals stating that they have considerable potential. Eamon Gilmore's Labour Party has launched policies which are seen to be broadly consistent with the FG platform.^[30]

Constitutional reform policies[link]

Fine Gael is seen as being a constitutional party, with members and public representatives always showing considerable deference to the institutional organs of the Irish state. The party leadership has been eager to be seen to engage in an ongoing constitutional debate in Ireland on the topic of political reform. The debate which has been monitored by the Irish Times in its Renewing the Republic opinion pieces, has largely centred on the make up of the Oireachtas, the Irish parliament. FG's Phil Hogan TD, has published the party's answer to the political and constitutional reform question. In a policy document entitled New Politics, deputy Hogan has suggested creating a country with "a smaller, more dynamic and more responsive political system," reducing the size of the Dáil by 20, changing the way the Dáil works, and in a controversial move, abolishing the Irish senate, Seanad Éireann.^[31]

Aiming to carry out the parties proposals through a series of constitutional referendums, the proposals were echoed by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, when he proposed his own constitutional crusade at his 2010 party conference, shortly after.^[32]

Social policies[link]

Fine Gael was traditionally conservative in social matters for most of the twentieth century, due to the conservative Christian ethos of Irish society during this time. Its members are variously influence by Christian democracy, liberalism and social democracy on issues of social policy. Under Garret FitzGerald, the party's more liberal or pluralist wing gained prominence. Proposals to allow divorce were put by referendum by two Fine Gael–led governments, in 1986 under FitzGerald,^[33] and in 1995 under John Bruton, passing very narrowly on this second attempt.^[34]

Fine Gael supported civil unions for same-sex couples from 2003, voting for the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2010, and the party approved a motion at its 2012 Ard Fheis to prioritise the consideration of same-sex marriage in the upcoming constitutional convention. The party has run advertisements in GCN (Gay Community News) advertising its commitments to same-sex couples.

Fine Gael supports making the Irish language an optional subject in the secondary school curriculum after the Junior Certificate.^[35][36]

Health policies[link]

The Irish health system, being administered centrally by the Health Service Executive, is seen to be poor by comparison to other countries in Europe, ranking outside expected levels at 25th according to the Euro Health Consumer Index 2006.^[37] Fine Gael wants Ireland to break with the system of private health insurance, public medical cards and what it calls the two tiers of the health system and has launched a campaign to see the system reformed. Speaking in favour of the campaign, Fine Gael health spokesman James Reilly stated "Over the last 10 years the health service has become a shambles. We regularly have over 350 people on trolleys in A&E, waiting lists that go on for months, outpatient waiting lists that go on for years and cancelled operations across the country..."^[38]

Fine Gael launched its FairCare campaign and website in April 2009, which states that the health service would be reformed away from a costly ineffective endeavour, into a publicly regulated system where compulsory universal health insurance would replace the existing provisions.^[39]

This strategy was criticised by Fianna Fáil Minister for Children, Barry Andrews. The spokesperson for family law and children, Alan Shatter TD, robustly defended its proposals as the only means of reducing public expenditure, and providing a service in Ireland more akin to the German, Dutch and Canadian health systems.

Pro-European[link]

Fine Gael is among the most pro-European integration parties in the Republic of Ireland, having supported the European Constitution,^[40] the Lisbon Treaty, and advocating participation in European common defence.^[41] Under Enda Kenny, the party has questioned Irish neutrality, with Kenny claiming that "the truth is, Ireland is not neutral. We are merely unaligned."^[40]

European affiliations[link]

Fine Gael is a founding member of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest European political party comprising conservative and Christian democratic national-level parties from across Europe. Fine Gael's MEPs sit with the EPP Group in the European Parliament, and FG parliamentarians also sit with the EPP Groups in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Committee of the Regions. Young Fine Gael is a member of the Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP).

It is inferred from Fine Gael's relationship to European counterparts via membership of the European People's Party that FG belongs on the centre-right.^[42][43][44] Currently, the party conforms generally with European political parties that identify themselves as being Christian democratic.^[45] Some younger parliamentarians are identified with the centre-right. The Irish Times supplement described front bench member Leo Varadkar TD as having explicitly centre-right views.^[46]

Electoral performance[link]

At the 2011 general election, Fine Gael gained 25 seats bringing them to a total of 76. The party ran candidates in all 43 constituencies, and had candidates elected in every constituency except Dublin North–West.

Fine Gael won 19 seats in Seanad Éireann following the 2011 election, a gain of four from the previous election in 2007.

At the 2009 Local elections held on 5 June 2009, Fine Gael won 556 seats, surpassing Fianna Fáil which won 407 seats, and making Fine Gael the largest party of local government nationally.^[47] They gained 88 seats from their 2004 result.

At 2009 European Parliament election held on the same day as the Local elections, which saw a reduction in the number seats from 13 to 12 for Ireland, the party won four seats, retaining the largest number of seats of an Irish party in the European Parliament. This was a loss of one seat from its 2004 result.^[48]

While Fine Gael was responsible for the initial nomination of the uncontested, first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, a Fine Gael candidate has never won an election to the office of President. The most recent Fine Gael presidential candidate, Mary Banotti, finished second in the 1997 presidential election, with 29.3% of the vote.^[49] In 2004, Fine Gael supported the re-election of President Mary McAleese.

Planning and Payment Tribunals[link]

The Moriarty Tribunal has sat since 1997 and has investigated the granting of a mobile phone license to Esat Telecom by Michael Lowry when he was Fine Gael Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications in the Rainbow Coalition of the mid-1990s. Lowry resigned from the Cabinet after it was revealed at the Moriarty Tribunal that businessman Ben Dunne had paid for a IR£395,000 extension to Lowry's Tipperary home. Lowry, currently an independent TD, supported the Fianna Fáil–Green Party government in Dáil Éireann until March 2011.

It was also revealed in December 1996 that Fine Gael had received some £180,000 from Ben Dunne in the period 1987 to 1993. This was composed of £100,000 in 1993, £50,000 in 1992 and £30,000 in 1989. In addition, Michael Noonan received £3,000 in 1992 towards his election campaign, Ivan Yates received £5,000, Michael Lowry received £5,000 and Sean Barrett received £1,000 in the earlier 1987 election. John Bruton said he had received £1,000 from Dunne in 1982 towards his election campaign. and Dunne had also given £15,000 to the Labour Party during the 1990 Presidential election campaign.^[50]

Following revelations at the Moriarty Tribunal on the 16th February, 1999, in relation to Charles Haughey and his relationship with AIB, former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald confirmed that AIB and Ansbacher wrote off debts of almost £200,000 that he owed in 1993, when he was in financial difficulties because of the collapse of the aircraft leasing company, GPA, in which he was a shareholder. The write-off occurred after Dr Fitzgerald left politics and Dr. Fitzgerald also said he believed his then Fine Gael colleague, Peter Sutherland, who was chairman of AIB at the time, was unaware of the situation.^[51]

Leadership[link]

Mayo TD Enda Kenny was elected leader of Fine Gael in a secret ballot of the parliamentary party on 5 June 2002. Kenny defeated Richard Bruton, Phil Hogan and Gay Mitchell in the leadership election, which was triggered by the resignation of Michael Noonan following the 2002 general election. The position of deputy leader has been held since July 2010 by James Reilly. It was previously held by Dublin North–Central TD Richard Bruton from 2002 until 2010.^[52] He was preceded as deputy leader by Jim Mitchell.

List of party leaders[link]

General election results[link]

^A In December 1994, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Democratic Left entered into government without a general election being called.

Front bench[link]

Young Fine Gael[link]

Young Fine Gael (YFG) is the youth movement of Fine Gael. It was founded in 1976 by the then leader Garret Fitzgerald. It caters for young people under 30 with an interest in Fine Gael and politics, in cities, towns, parishes and third level colleges throughout Ireland. YFG has 4,000 members nationwide.^[56] YFG is led by its national executive consisting of eleven members elected on a regional basis, and on a national panel.

See also[link]

• List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland

Notes and references[link]

Bibliography[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fine Gael

• Official website
• Young Fine Gael

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Britain and Ireland in the mid-5th century, between the Roman departure and the founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

  Mainly Goidelic areas.

  Mainly Pictish areas.

  Mainly Brythonic areas.

Gaelic language and culture would eventually become dominant in the Pictish area and far northern Brythonic area.

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx.^[1] Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man.

The Goidelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other being Brythonic.

Terminology[link]

The modern English term Gael derives ultimately from the Old Irish (Ancient Gaelic) word Goídel, which was spelled in various ways by Gaelic writers at different times. The modern Gaelic spellings are Gael (Irish) and Gàidheal (Scottish Gaelic).

Early Greek and Roman authors called the Irish Ιουερνοι and Iverni, respectively, both derived from the Proto-Irish ethnic name *Iwerni ("people of *Iweriū"). Later Greek and Latin variants of this name included Ίερνοι, Hierni, and Hiberni.^[2]

Scoti or Scotti was another generic Latin name for the Irish that came into use by the 4th century.^[3][4] It is not believed that any Gaelic groups called themselves Scot(t)i in ancient times, except when referring to themselves in Latin.^[3] It is also conjectured that the Latin term may mean "raider/pirate" as it is widely accepted that raiders from Ireland were attacking Britain's west coast during and following the Roman occupation.

Goidel is thought to have been borrowed some time during the 7th century from the (not directly attested) Primitive Welsh form which became Old Welsh Guoidel, i. e., "Irishman" (which is attested as a male personal name in the Book of Llandaff), and may ultimately be derived from an Proto-Indo-European *weidh-(e)l-o-, perhaps meaning "forest people," partially cognate with the Old Irish ethnic name Féni (from Proto-Indo-European *weidh-n-jo-, "forest people," later becoming simply "warriors" in Proto-Irish).^[5][6]

History of use[link]

Since the disappearance of Gaelic as a community language in the south and east of Scotland in the late medieval period, and the popularity of the terms 'highland Scot' and 'lowland Scot', the term Gàidheal has been used in Gaelic language conversation not merely to denote Gaelic identity but also as an equivalent for the single English word 'highlander'.

Up until the late 15th century, the Gaelic language in Scotland was generally named Scottish, both in its Latin form and in Early Scots. For example, the usage in The Flyting of Dumbar and Kennedie at the start of the 16th century is Erse (= Irish) and Inglis (= English). After this time, the Gaelic language generally became called Erse (Irish) and the lowland tongue Scots (= Scottish).

Documentary evidence shows other subsequent alterations in general terminology, such as the appearance of the Latin term "Scotos Hibernicos" in 1521 and its English equivalent, "Scottish-Irish," by the English diplomat Ralph Sadler in 1558 to refer to Scottish Gaels.^[7]

In earliest surviving writings in the Lowland Scots tongue (which had hitherto been called Inglis), a form of the term Gaidheal appears to discriminate between Gaels from the Scottish Highlands and Gaels from Ireland. In 1596, it appears in James Dalrymple's translation from Latin into Lowland Scots of the Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565 as the main element within the word Gaelic, referring to the language in Scotland, rather than in Ireland.

Current definitions[link]

• Gaels – the ethno-linguistic group.
• Gaelic – of or relating to the Gaels.
• Goidels – an alternative term sometimes used to describe the Gaels in antiquarian contexts
• Goidelic – of or relating to the Gaels, particularly their language, in antiquarian contexts

Gaelic culture and society[link]

This section requires expansion.

History[link]

Mythological origins[link]

The Gaels, during the beginning of the Christian era, believed themselves to be descendants of the Milesians - the sons of Míl Espáine. Much of this is covered in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, which catalogues the Milesian invasion of Ireland from the Iberian Peninsula. While this account is mostly mythical, it may be an embellished version of actual historical events. Recent genetic studies by Brian Sykes, Oxford University, suggest that these myths are based on historical facts since the people of northwestern Iberia, especially those from Galicia and Asturias are genetically closely related to the Gaels.

Emergence of Gaelic language[link]

The vowels of the Ogham alphabet.

It is not known with any certainty when the Goidelic (or Q-Celtic) language developed in prehistoric Ireland, or how the Gaels came to be the dominant culture.

Estimates of the arrival of proto-Gaelic in Ireland vary widely from the introduction of agriculture circa 7000-6000 BC to around the first few centuries BC. Little can be said with certainty, as the language now known as Old Irish, ancestral to modern Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx, first began to be properly recorded with the Christianisation of Ireland in the 4th Century, with the introduction of the Roman script. Old Irish does appear in a specialized written form, using a unique script known as Ogham. The oldest examples of Ogham have survived in the form of memorial inscriptions or short epitaphs on pillar-like stone monuments (see Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth.) Ogham stones are found throughout Ireland as well as in other areas where Gaelic invaders settled across post-Roman Britain. This form of written Old Irish is thought to have been in use as early as 1000 BC. The script frequently encodes a name or description of the owner and surrounding region, and it is possible that the inscribed stones may have represented territorial claims.

Expansion[link]

Red: Historical maximum expansion of known Gaelic-speaking areas in the British Isles
Orange: Other areas where ogham inscriptions have been found
Green: Areas where Goidelic languages are commonly spoken in modern times

Starting some time around the 5th century Gaelic language and culture spread from Ireland to the southwest coast of modern Scotland, where it may have already existed since Roman times. Uncertainty over this comes as a result of the fact that there is disputed archaeological evidence to support the generally accepted tale of migration while there is some to suggest that there was none — the evidence also points to the population of the area (modern day Argyll) being constant during the time of the alleged invasion of Scotland^{[citation needed]}. This area was known as Dál Riata. The Gaels soon spread out to most of the rest of the country. Culturo-linguistic dominance in the area eventually led to the Latin name for Gaelic speaking peoples, "Scoti," being applied to the state founded by the Gaels: "Scotland." Since that time Gaelic language rose and, in the past three centuries, greatly diminished, in most of Ireland and Scotland. The most culturally and linguistically Gaelic regions are in the north west of Scotland, the west of Ireland and Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia where the descendants of the Highland Clearances were transplanted.

The Isle of Man (Manx: Ellan Vannin, 'Mannin's Isle', from the pre-Christian deity known as Manannán mac Lír) also came under massive Gaelic influence in its history. The last native speaker of Manx died in the 1970s, though use of the Manx language never fully ceased. There is now a resurgent language movement and Manx is once again taught in all schools as a second language and in some as a first language. A large part of the island's cultural heritage is Gaelic.

Today[link]

Gaeltacht areas in Ireland.

Distribution of Gaelic speakers in Scotland.

The two comparatively 'major' Gaelic nations in the modern era are Ireland (which in the 2002 census had 185,838 people who spoke Irish "daily" and 1,570,894 who were "able" to speak it).^[8] and Scotland (58,552 "Gaelic speakers" and 92,400 with "some Gaelic language ability"^[9] in the 2001 census) Communities where the language is still spoken natively are restricted largely to the west coast of each country and especially the Hebrides in Scotland. However, a large proportion of the Gaelic speaking population now lives in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, as well as Donegal, Galway, Cork and Dublin in Ireland. There are about 2,000 Canadian Gaelic speakers although they are generally of a very advanced age and concentrated in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.^[10] According to the 2000 US CensusPDF (123 KiB), there are over 25,000 Irish-speakers in the United States with the majority found in urban areas with large Irish-American communities such as Boston, New York City and Chicago.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Aberdeen University Celtic Department Information and courses on all aspects of Celts, Gaels and related peoples, languages and cultures
• Iomairt Cholm Cille (The Columban Institute) An institute with the aim of promoting links between Irish and Scottish Gaelic speakers.
• DNA shows Scots and Irish should look to Spain for their ancestry

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Enda Kenny TD
Taoiseach
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 March 2011
Tánaiste	Eamon Gilmore
Preceded by	Brian Cowen
Leader of Fine Gael
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 June 2002
Deputy	Richard Bruton James Reilly
Preceded by	Michael Noonan
Minister for Tourism and Trade
In office 15 December 1994 – 6 June 1997
Preceded by	Charlie McCreevy
Succeeded by	Jim McDaid
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office June 1997
Preceded by	Constituency established
Constituency	Mayo
In office November 1975 – June 1997
Preceded by	Henry Kenny
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Constituency	Mayo West
Personal details
Born	(1951-04-24) 24 April 1951 (age 61) Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
Political party	Fine Gael
Spouse(s)	Fionnuala O'Kelly (m. 1992–present)
Children	1 daughter 2 sons
Alma mater	St Patrick's College of Education, Dublin University College, Galway (UCG)
Religion	Roman Catholicism[1]

Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach since 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party.

Kenny has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for Mayo since 1975, having succeeded his father Henry Kenny.^[2] He is the longest-serving TD currently in Dáil Éireann, which makes him the incumbent Father of the Dáil.

Kenny led Fine Gael in the 2011 general election. He subsequently brokered an agreement with the Labour Party and formed a coalition government on 9 March 2011.^[3] He is Fine Gael's first Taoiseach since John Bruton from 1994 to 1997, and the first Fine Gael leader to win government in an election since Garret FitzGerald in 1982.

Early and private life[link]

Enda Kenny was born in the village of Islandeady near Castlebar, County Mayo in 1951, the third child of five. He was educated locally at St. Patrick's National School in Cornanool and St. Gerald's College (De La Salle) in Castlebar.^[4] Kenny subsequently attended St Patrick's College of Education in Dublin and University College Galway.^[5] He briefly worked as a primary school teacher, and is a Gaeilgeoir.^[5]

Kenny has been married to Dubliner Fionnuala O'Kelly since 1992. She has been described by the media as his "best asset" and his "secret weapon".^[6][7] O'Kelly is first cousin to sitting MEP Seán Kelly,^[8] former President of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The Kelly family originally come from the parish of Kilcummin near Killarney, County Kerry. Enda and Fionnuala have three children, one daughter and two sons. The couple met in Leinster House where O'Kelly worked as a press officer for Fianna Fáil. She later worked with Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).^[6][7][9]

Kenny has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.^[10] He is a keen supporter of his native Mayo Gaelic football team. He played Gaelic football for his local club, Islandeady,^[11] of which he is the current club president. His father, Henry Kenny, won an All-Ireland medal with the inter-county team in 1936. His grandfather was a lighthouse keeper.^[12]

Political career[link]

Early political career[link]

From an early age Kenny was exposed to politics as his father, Henry Kenny, became a Fine Gael TD in 1954. In the early 1970s he became directly involved in politics when he started helping his father with constituency clinics. In 1975 Henry Kenny, who was at this stage a Parliamentary Secretary in the government, died after a short battle with cancer. The Fine Gael party wanted one of his sons to stand as their candidate at the subsequent by-election, and so Enda Kenny was chosen. He was elected on the first count with 52% of the vote, and at 24 he was the youngest member of the 20th Dáil.^[13]

Kenny remained on the backbenches of the Dáil for almost a decade. He was appointed party spokesperson firstly on youth affairs and sport, then western development, however, he failed to build a national profile as he concentrated more on constituency matters. Kenny was left out in the cold when Garret FitzGerald became Taoiseach for the first time in 1981 and again in 1982. He was, however, appointed as a member of the Fine Gael delegation at the New Ireland Forum in 1983 and later served on the British-Irish Parliamentary Association. In 1986 he became a Minister of State at the Departments of Education and Labour. Fine Gael lost the 1987 general election resulting in Kenny being on the opposition benches for the next seven years. In spite of this his national profile was raised as he served in a number of positions on the party's front bench, including Education, Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. He was also the Fine Gael Chief Whip for a short period.

Government minister[link]

In late 1994 the Fianna Fáil–Labour Party government collapsed; however, no general election was called. Instead a Fine Gael–Labour Party–Democratic Left "Rainbow Coalition" came to power. Kenny, as Fine Gael chief whip, was a key member of the team, which negotiated the programme for government with the other two parties prior to the formation of the new government. Under Taoiseach John Bruton, Kenny joined the cabinet and was appointed Minister for Tourism and Trade. During his tenure as minister, Ireland saw a significant growth in tourism business and in its international trade position^{[citation needed]}. As minister he chaired the European Union Council of Trade Ministers during Ireland's six-month Presidency of the European Council as well as co-chairing a round of the World Trade Organization talks in 1996. Among Kenny's other achievements were the rejuvenation of the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Dublin and the successful negotiations to bring a stage of the 1998 Tour de France to Ireland. In 1997 the government was defeated at the general election and Kenny returned to the opposition benches.

2001 Fine Gael leadership election[link]

In 2001 John Bruton resigned as leader of Fine Gael following a vote of no confidence in his ability.^[14] Kenny was one of a number of candidates who stood in the subsequent leadership election, promising to "electrify the party".^[15] In the final ballot it was Michael Noonan who emerged victorious (it is Fine Gael's custom not to publish ballot results for leadership elections). Noonan subsequently failed to give a spokesperson's assignment to Kenny. This led Kenny to accuse Noonan of sending a "dangerous message".^[16]

Fine Gael leader[link]

At the 2002 general election Fine Gael suffered its worst electoral performance ever, losing 23 seats, a figure larger than expected and with its overall vote down 5%. Kenny himself came close to losing his seat and even went so far as to prepare a concession speech. In the end he won the third seat in the five-seat constituency. Noonan resigned as Fine Gael leader on the night of the result, an action which triggered another leadership election. Protest meetings were held by members of the party against the speed with which the leadership election had been called and the failure to broaden the franchise to the membership. It was suggested that it was foolish to choose a leader before conducting an electoral post-mortem.

Kenny once again contested the Fine Gael leadership and emerged successful on that occasion.^[17] On becoming leader he faced an unenviable task. He not only had to rebuild a demoralised party that had been cut down to 31 seats, but also had to face a very popular Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. In the beginning his leadership style was also criticised. The tide began to turn for Fine Gael in 2003 as the Fianna Fáil-led government's popularity took a downturn. Fine Gael's membership increased and the party became a much more united entity. Kenny's first major televised conference speech in November 2003 was well received by the media and, for many, marked a turn in Fine Gael's fortunes as it began to offer more vigorous opposition to Ahern's government.^{[citation needed]}

Viktor Orbán, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and Enda Kenny during an EPP Summit on 11 December 2008.

In September 2002, Kenny was accused of making racist remarks after he used the word "nigger" in a joke relating to Patrice Lumumba, the assassinated first Prime Minister of Congo. Kenny wanted his "obscure joke" to be suppressed and specifically asked journalists not to report it, though Enda's "chortling repetition of the inflammatory word" was carried by the Sunday Independent newspaper.^[18] He was subsequently condemned by race campaigners at home, in Britain and further abroad.^[19][20] Matters were made worse when it emerged that several of Lumumba's relatives, including a son and several grandchildren, lived in Tallaght.^[21]

Fine Gael out-performed expectations at the 2004 Local and European elections, which saw Fine Gael increase it representation from 4 MEPs of 15 from Ireland, to 5 from 13. This was the first time Fine Gael had ever defeated Fianna Fáil in a national election, as well as the first time Fianna Fáil had lost a national election since it finished second in the Irish general election, September 1927 to Cumann na nGaedheal, Fine Gael's immediate predecessor.

In July 2005, five men from the north of Kenny's Mayo constituency were jailed over their opposition to the Fianna Fáil-led government's plans for the Corrib gas project. One of the men, Philip McGrath, worked for Kenny as an election agent for Rossport during general elections. Unlike his fellow Mayo Fine Gael TD, Michael Ring, Kenny was cautious about backing the men's stance (Ring would later be forced to adopt the same policy).^[22] The Shell to Sea campaign that was founded to help release the men and get the government to change its mind shut down work on the project for fifteen months. When Gardaí were brought in to remove protesters with tactics that saw many hospitalised, Kenny said: "The law must be obeyed."^[23]

In November 2005, Kenny called for the abolition of compulsory Irish for the Leaving Certificate examinations. This was opposed by all the major Irish language organisations.^[24] In March 2006 Kenny was elected Vice-President of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest European political group to which Fine Gael is affiliated.^[25] In his speech to the EPP he stated that Fine Gael would be in Government within two years.

During the first half of 2006 Kenny went aggressively after a more populist line on the cost of immigration, street crime, paedophilia and homeowner's rights. A graphic description of a mugging he had experienced was given to the Dáil in the context of a crime discussion, only for it to be revealed a day later that the incident had occurred in Kenya not Ireland.^[26]

Responding to the 2008–2011 Irish banking crisis in County Cork on 15 February 2009, Kenny asked the entire board of the Central Bank of Ireland's Financial Regulation section to resign.^[27]

2007 general election[link]

Kenny, speaking at the Young Fine Gael conference in 2007.

Under Kenny the Fine Gael Party agreed to enter a pre-election pact with the Labour Party in order to offer the electorate an alternative coalition government at the 2007 general election held on 24 May. The so-called 'Mullingar Accord' was agreed in September 2004 following the European and Local elections that year.^[28] The Green Party also signalled via the media to be in favour of membership of such a coalition government after the election.^{[citation needed]} They refused to commit to an agreement prior to polling day however.

Kenny's leadership has attempted to define Fine Gael as a party of the progressive centre. Its policy initiatives have concentrated on value for money, consumer rights, civil partnerships, reform of public spending, reward and enterprise and preventative health care policy. The party has sought to retake its former mantle as the law-and-order party committed to defending the institutions of the state. At the Fine Gael Ardfheis in March 2007 Kenny outlined his platform for the forthcoming general election entitled the 'Contract for a Better Ireland.'^[29] The main aspects of this 'contract' included: 2,300 more hospital beds, 2,000 more Gardaí, tougher jail sentences and tougher bail for criminals, free health insurance for all children under 16 and lower income tax.

Bertie Ahern was perceived by many to have comfortably beaten Kenny in the pre-election Leaders' debate.^[30]

When the votes were counted it emerged that Fine Gael had made large gains, increasing its number of seats by twenty to give a total of 51 seats in the new Dáil.^[31] However, Labour and the Greens failed to make gains, leaving Kenny's "Alliance for Change" short of a majority. Despite predictions to the contrary, the Fianna Fáil vote recovered sufficiently to bring it to 78 seats, and a third term in government for Ahern.^[32]

Media commentary[link]

In December 2008, Vincent Browne criticised Kenny in The Irish Times for not having a grasp of the issues, notably of economic issues.^[33]

2010 leadership challenge[link]

An opinion poll published in The Irish Times on 10 June 2010 triggered a challenge to Kenny's leadership of the party. The Ipsos MRBI poll indicated that the Labour Party had become the most popular political party in the country for the first time ever, and also showed a drop in backing for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and for their leaders. It showed a five-point drop in Fianna Fáil support since January 2010, leaving that party on 17%, Fine Gael down four points to 28%, and Labour up eight points to 32%. Satisfaction with Kenny's leadership dropped 7% to 24%.^[34]

Following the failure of the party's deputy leader Richard Bruton to support him, he was dismissed by Kenny on 14 June. He also tabled a motion of confidence in his leadership, to be held on 17 June.^[34][35] On the following day it was revealed that nine members of the Fine Gael frontbench did not have confidence in Kenny to lead their party - composed of Simon Coveney, Denis Naughten, Olwyn Enright, Olivia Mitchell, Fergus O'Dowd, Michael Creed, Billy Timmins, Leo Varadkar and Brian Hayes. Denis Naughten said frontbench members did not have Kenny's support and would like him to withdraw his motion of confidence and stand down in the interest of the party.^[34]

The motion of confidence in Kenny was passed.^[34][36] He announced a major reshuffle of his party's front bench on 1 July 2010, re-appointing Bruton, Coveney, O'Dowd and Varadkar.^[37]

2011 general election[link]

At the start of the 2011 general election, Kenny said Fine Gael recognised the importance of “the giving of hope and confidence to people through the taxation system”, when speaking to reporters outside party election headquarters in Dublin. “The Fine Gael party in this election is the only party that is categorically saying that there will not be any increase in income tax over our period in government,” he said. “There will be no increase in income tax.” He said the country needed strong government and not an administration that depended on the support of Independents. “I think that this is a time for courageous and strong government. It is not a time for government that might self-combust or that would be dependent on the whim of any mercenary Independents. This is a judgment call for the people.”^[38]

There was several leaders debates on television during the campaign. There was uniquely three debates on stations TV3, RTÉ and TG4 between Enda Kenny, Michaél Martin and Eamon Gilmore and a five way leaders' debate on RTÉ also including Gerry Adams and John Gormley along with the other participants from the three way debates.

Kenny however refused to participate in the three-way leaders' debate proposed by TV3, stating his unhappiness that Vincent Browne would chair the debate.^[39] Browne is a well known critic of Fine Gael and Kenny. In 1982 Browne appeared on The Late Late Show where he poured scorn on Kenny, claiming he was "purporting" to be a TD.^[40] In October 2010, Browne was forced to make a public apology to Kenny after jokingly asking whether Fine Gael was requesting that he go into a dark room with a gun and bottle of whiskey. This was in reference to Fine Gael's position in the polls, where they were in second place to Labour, and a previous leadership challenge to Kenny by Richard Bruton.^[41] Kenny refused to appear on the leaders debate despite an offer by Browne to be replaced by a different moderator for the debate if Kenny would appear.^[42][43]

Kenny participated in a three party leader debate on RTÉ, moderated by Miriam O'Callaghan^[44] and also in a five way debate on RTÉ, which was a new departure involving all party leaders of the outgoing Dáil, including Kenny, moderated by Pat Kenny.^[45]

He participated in a three-way debate in the Irish language with Micheál Martin and Eamon Gilmore on TG4.^[46]

Kenny makes a speech to Fine Gael party members on the day of the election results.

On 14 February 2011, Kenny met German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the Irish economy. Kenny and Merkel have close political ties because Merkel's CDU party and Fine Gael are both members of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and seating at EPP meetings is arranged by alphabetical order of surname.^[47] The close relationship between these two leaders is illustrated further by the fact that Angela Merkel also backed Enda Kenny and Fine Gael during the 2007 election.^[48]

Opinion polls of 23 February 2011 sponsored by Paddy Power,^[49] the Irish Independent,^[50] and The Irish Times^[51] suggested that Kenny would lead Fine Gael to its largest total of seats to date in the 31st Dail, and that he would be elected Taoiseach.

In the election, Kenny led Fine Gael to a decisive victory. The party won 76 seats, the most in its 78-year history, and will be the largest party in the Dáil for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state, its representation being reduced by 75%. Kenny himself topped the poll in his Mayo constituency and uniquely three others from Fine Gael were elected alongside Kenny. At a victory party in Dublin, Kenny declared Fine Gael had "a massive endorsement" to govern, and the election marked "a transformative moment in Ireland's history."^[52] Later, he told Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) that he fully expects to become Taoiseach after what he called "a democratic revolution at the ballot box."^[53] While there was some talk that Fine Gael would govern alone as a minority government, senior Fine Gael leaders indicated as soon as the election result was beyond doubt that they would likely enter a coalition government with Labour.^[54] Late on the night of 5 March, Fine Gael and Labour formally agreed to form a coalition government with Kenny as Taoiseach^[3] and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore as Tánaiste, with Labour being given four other seats in cabinet.^[55]

Kenny said that his first priority upon taking office will be to renegotiate the bailout, calling the original deal "a bad deal for Ireland and a bad deal for Europe."^[56]

Taoiseach 2011–present[link]

Kenny with President Barack Obama

The members of the 31st Dáil convened for the first time on 9 March 2011 and elected Kenny as Taoiseach by a vote of 117–27.^[57] Kenny received his seal of office from President Mary McAleese. He also announced ministerial appointees to his Government on 9 March 2011.^[58] At just under 59 years and 11 months on accession, Kenny is the second-oldest person to have assumed the office for the first time,^[59] the oldest being Seán Lemass.

On 9 March 2011, Kenny appointed 15 junior Ministries. He also appointed a Minister for political reform, and sent a request to the OPW as to how he could address ministerial transport.^[60] On March 15 it was announced that only the current President, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Justice were to have Garda drivers. All other Ministers would have to make use of their own transport with a mileage allowance and a commercial chauffeur as an expense. There was no announcement as to the continuing engagement of three government jets.^[61] The media reported that this would reduce the ministerial motor vehicle transport bill to 7 million euro annually which is more than the combined annual tax contributions of 16,000 people on minimum wage.

A report in the Sunday Mirror said Kenny would be the first Taoiseach to use the Steward's Lodge at Farmleigh as his official residence.^[62]

Government pay cuts[link]

In one of his first acts in the top office, Kenny slashed his own pay by €14,000 (a reduction of 7% which leaves his weekly net income at over €2,500^[63]). The new government also decided to cut the pay of senior ministers. The Taoiseach's pay is to be cut from €214,187 to €200,000. Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore's pay is cut from €197,486 to €184,405. Ministers' pay has been reduced to €169,275 (from €181,283), while pay for Ministers of State is cut from €139,266 to €130,042. In another cost-cutting measure, Kenny asked the Garda, the Departments of Justice and Transport, as well as the Office of Public Works, to come up with a plan to reduce the amount spent on transporting ministers and their teams.^[64]

Financial and banking policy[link]

On 11 March, his third day as Taoiseach, Kenny attended his first summit of European Union leaders in Brussels. During that summit he engaged in a heated confrontation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy (which Kenny termed "a Gallic spat") over Ireland's comparatively low 12.5% corporate tax rate, which EU leaders have frequently posited as a condition of more favorable terms for the Irish bailout.^[65] Kenny held firm on his refusal to alter the corporate tax, which he reiterated in his first Leaders' Questions the following week — also declaring his government's intention to withhold further state funds from Dublin banks until the EU agreed to new terms that forced banks' senior bondholders to share in the losses.^[66]

However, less than three weeks later on 31 March, the Central Bank of Ireland published the results of its "stress tests" on Ireland's four surviving banks (Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, EBS, and Irish Life & Permanent) — indicating that the banks needed to raise an additional €24 billion to remain solvent.^[67] Despite his earlier promise, the government announced the same day that the state would supply the necessary funds to keep the banks afloat, with Kenny stating that seeking the money from bondholders would be neither "reasonable or logical."^[68] Kenny was heavily criticised for his government's action, with the Irish Independent noting that "this is the fifth time Irish people have been told over the past couple of years it would be the last payout they would have to endure."^[69]

Nevertheless, the first national opinion poll since Kenny took office, published on 10 April, showed that public support for Kenny's Fine Gael party had increased since the election from 36% to 39%, although a plurality also indicated deep dissatisfaction with his rescue of the banks.^[70]

On 21 July 2011, Kenny announced that an agreement had been reached by Eurozone leaders to reduce Ireland's interest rate by 2% and extend the repayment period.^[71]

Pension Levy controversy[link]

On 9 May, Kenny's government announced a new job creation program, along with plan to finance it via a 0.6% tax levy on private pension savings.^[72] Public pension funds, however, would remain untouched. The pension levy caused an immediate and intense outcry, leaving Kenny to defend the initiative as "a modest proposal" and refuting charges that the government would next tax personal savings.^[73][74] However, the controversy surrounding the levy intensified on 12 May, when Kenny admitted that the holders of Approved Retirement Funds — most of whom were among the highest income earners in Ireland — would not be included in the levy.^[75]

Political reforms[link]

On 3 May 2011, Kenny's government approved a set of political reforms that adhered to promises Kenny had made in the 2011 election.^[76][77] Among the approved reforms were a binding Constituency Commission scheduled for June 2011, with the specific purpose of reducing the number of TDs by up to 20;^[76] an act to establish a six-month time limit for holding by-elections to the Dáil; a €750,000 spending limit in the 2011 Irish presidential election; Legislation to ban corporate donations, to be enacted by summer 2011; establishment of a Constitutional Convention in 2011, which will include discussion of the Seanad; and a referendum to abolish the Seanad, to be held in the second half of 2012.^[77] The promise to cut up to 20 TDs caused some controversy and skepticism due to the Constitutional requirement that there be no less than one TD for every 30,000 people, which would necessitate a minimum of 150 TDs — meaning that the current number of 166 TDs could be reduced by 16 at most.^[78]

Vatican reprimand[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Enda Kenny's Cloyne Speech

On 13 July 2011 the Cloyne Report was published, detailing the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by 19 priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne.^[79] Among the report's findings were the revelation that the vast majority of allegations made in the diocese were not reported to the Garda, as required by the Church's 1996 guidelines; that the Bishop of the Diocese, John Magee, and others had withheld full cooperation with the Government's investigation and had deliberately misrepresented his own response to the allegations; and that the Vatican itself had both refused to cooperate in the investigation and counseled the Diocese that the 1996 guidelines were not binding.^[80][81]

On 20 July, Kenny condemned the Vatican^[82] for its role in the scandal, stating that the Church's role in obstructing the investigation was a serious infringement upon the sovereignty of Ireland and that the scandal revealed "the dysfunction, disconnection and elitism that dominates the culture of the Vatican to this day."^[83] He added that "the historic relationship between church and state in Ireland could not be the same again."^[84][85]

Kenny's attack on the Vatican was unprecedented by a high-level official in Ireland, whose formal relationship with the Catholic Church had long been viewed as intimate and inextricable.^{[citation needed]} The speech was widely regarded as extraordinary, with Britain's Daily Mail newspaper commenting that "The astonishing attack was the first time that Ireland's Parliament has publicly castigated the Vatican instead of local church leaders during the country's 17 years of paedophile-priest scandals."^[86] The Guardian remarked that " the political classes have...lost their fear, namely of the once almighty Roman Catholic church."^[87]

Vatican response[link]

On 3 September the Holy See issued its response to Mr Kenny's speech noting that "the accusation that the Holy See attempted “to frustrate an Inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago”, which Mr Kenny made no attempt to substantiate, is unfounded. Indeed, when asked, a Government spokesperson clarified that Mr Kenny was not referring to any specific incident". The response added that "Those Reports [.........] contain no evidence to suggest that the Holy See meddled in the internal affairs of the Irish State or, for that matter, was involved in the day-to-day management of Irish dioceses or religious congregations with respect to sexual abuse issues".

On the quoting of then Cardinal Ratzinger, the response notes "The quotation in question is taken from the Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian, otherwise known as Donum Veritatis (The Gift of the Truth), published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 24 May 1990, and signed by the then Prefect and Secretary of the Congregation. It is not a private text of the then Cardinal Ratzinger but an official document of the Congregation. This document is concerned with the theologian’s service to the Church community, a service which can also be of help to society at large, and not with the manner in which the Church should behave within a democratic society nor with issues of child protection, as Mr Kenny’s use of the quotation would seem to imply"^[88]

Address to the nation[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Enda Kenny's address to the nation

He gave a televised address to the nation on 4 December 2011, ahead of the delivery of the 2012 Irish budget.^[89] He warned that Budget 2012 "will be tough", and that "it has to be". He also said that it will move Ireland towards a manageable deficit of 3% of GDP by 2015.^[90] This was only the sixth time that a taoiseach has addressed the nation,^[91] reflecting the gravity of the Irish economic condition, in what Kenny stressed were "exceptional" circumstances.^[92] The broadcast was the second most watched television programme of 2011 in Ireland, attracting an audience of 1,199,000 viewers.^[93]

See also[link]

• Families in the Oireachtas

References[link]