Michelle Mulherin
Michelle Mulherin | |
|---|---|
| Senator | |
| In office June 2016 – June 2020 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office February 2011–February 2016 | |
| Constituency | Mayo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 January 1972 Ballina,County Mayo,Ireland |
| Political party | Fine Gael |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Michelle Mulherin(born 20 January 1972) is an Irish formerFine Gaelpolitician who served as aSenatorfrom 2016 to 2020, after beingnominated by the Taoiseach.She served as aTeachta Dála(TD) for theMayoconstituency from 2011 to 2016.[1]
Career[edit]
She was elected as a Fine GaelTDfor theMayoconstituency at the2011 general election.She was elected toBallinaTown Council in1999[2]and has also as aMayo County Councillorfrom2004,until her election toDáil Éireannin 2011.[2]Mulherin also sat on theEuropean Committee of the Regionsfrom 2005 until her election to the Dáil.[3][4]Mulherin unsuccessfully stood for election in the Mayo constituency at the2007 general election.[2]She lost her seat at the2016 general election.
Mulherin wasnominated by the TaoiseachEnda Kennyto the25th Seanadin May 2016.[2][5]
She was the Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Mayo constituency at the2020 general election.
Controversies[edit]
In March 2011, Mulherin criticised the LibyanNational Transitional Councilduring the2011 Libyan Civil War,saying that it was an "internal matter" and that "oil was what made Libya 'special' and the external interference from countries such as the US is worrying".[6]Mulherin was not disciplined for her comments, which dissented against the official Fine Gael policy.[7]
Several months later, in June 2011, she was among a number of backbench Fine Gael TDs who criticised the level of payments being made to the unemployed. She called forNational serviceto be introduced in order to tackle a "culture of entitlement". This proposal was criticised by a senior member of Fine Gael, who described the proposal as not being "out of place at a convention of theTea Party movementin America ".[8]
In April 2012, she spoke in aDáil Éireanndebate on the subject of limitedabortion.In her brief contribution she described the liberatinggraceof God and the "fallen nature"of all people, and claimed that"fornication,I would say, is probably the single most likely cause of unwanted pregnancies in this country ".[9]This was criticised by TDs who favoured more access to abortion, including theindependentLuke 'Ming' FlanaganandClare Daly,theSocialist Partyrepresentative who had proposed the bill being debated.[10]In a television interview a few days later, she clarified that by 'fornication' she had meant 'consensual sex between adults who are not married to each other'.[11]
In March 2013, Mulherin accused youth information site Spunout.ie of publishing inappropriate sex education content. Mulherin claimed that the information on the site was "incredibly regressive" and said that she would raise the issue of funding for the site with Health MinisterJames Reilly.[12]
In January and February 2015, Mulherin paid €3,295 to the Leinster House authorities for 130 phone calls she made from her Leinster House phone to an individual inKenyawho previously worked on her election campaign.[13]
In 2016, after Mayo reached the All-Ireland Football Final, she claimed she should have a right to a ticket for the Final because she was a Senator. This was despite the fact that she admitted to having attended only two of Mayo's matches en route to the final.[14]
References[edit]
- ^"Michelle Mulherin".Oireachtas Members Database.Retrieved9 March2011.
- ^abcd"Michelle Mulherin".ElectionsIreland.org.Retrieved23 March2011.
- ^"Council Decision of 20 September 2005 appointing two members and four alternate members of the Committee of the Regions (2005-674-EC)"(PDF).Council of the European Union– viaWikimedia Commons.
- ^"Council Decision of 20 September 2011 appointing two Irish members and an Irish alternate member of the Committee of the Regions (2011-649-EU)"(PDF).Council of the European Union– viaWikimedia Commons.
- ^Sarah Bardon (27 May 2016)."FF leader selects three of Taoiseach's 11 Seanad appointees".Irish Times.
- ^O'Halloran, Marie (25 March 2011)."FG TD says Libyan rebellion should not be supported".The Irish Times.
- ^De Bréadún, Deaglán (26 March 2011)."Mulherin will not be disciplined over Libya stance".The Irish Times.
- ^"'Deadbeat dads' under fire in new proposals ".Irish Independent.12 June 2011.
- ^"Fine Gael TD: Fornication the main cause of unwanted pregnancies".Newstalk.19 April 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 22 April 2012.
- ^"Fornication the 'cause of unwanted pregnancies'".The Irish Times.20 April 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 20 April 2012.
- ^"Michelle Mulherin - The Saturday Night Show Transcript".RTÉ.22 April 2012.
- ^Mac Cormaic, Ruadhan (24 March 2013)."Youth website defends sex advice".The Irish Times.Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2013.Retrieved25 March2013.
- ^O'Connor, Niall (24 February 2015)."Michelle Mulherin maintains 130 calls made to Kenya were 'work-related'".Irish Independent.Retrieved9 January2016.
- ^"Michelle Mulherin accuses GAA of discrimination after failing to get an All-Ireland ticket at the last minute".Journal.ie.15 September 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 16 January 2020.