Susan O'Keeffe

Susan O'Keeffe
O'Keeffe in 2014
Senator
In office April 2011 – April 2016
Constituency	Agricultural Panel
Personal details
Born	(1960-09-18)18 September 1960 Dublin,Ireland
Political party	Labour Party
Profession	Journalist

Susan O'Keeffe(born 18 September 1960) is anIrishjournalist and formerLabour Partypolitician.

Personal life

She was educated atMount Anville Secondary School,Dublin,and atUniversity College Cork.She lives inCollooney,County Sligowith her husband and three children.

Journalism

O'Keeffe is a journalist by profession. In 1995, when working onWorld in Action,she was threatened with prison inIrelandfor refusing to reveal her sources. She had investigated scandals within the Irish meat industry in two films in 1991. The investigation centred on the Goodman International group – involving tax fraud, misappropriation of beef andLarry Goodman's dealings withSaddam Hussein's Iraq, leading to the setting-up of aTribunal of Inquiry,known as theBeef Tribunal,which found that much of her criticism of the industry was substantiated. However, the Tribunal demanded that she name her informants, and when she refused to do so, she was charged by theDirector of Public Prosecutions.The case became acause célèbrein Ireland, and, in January 1995, she faced trial forcontempt of courtbut was cleared of the charge.She was honoured in the 1994 Freedom of Information Awards for her stand.

Politics

She was an unsuccessful candidate at the2011 general electionfor theSligo–North Leitrimconstituency, polling 4,553 first preference votes (10.2%).She was also a candidate in the2009 European Parliament electionfor theNorth-Westconstituency. Her candidacy in the 2011 general election was not helped by the fact that three former members of the Labour Party stood against her.She was elected to the24th Seanadin April 2011 by theAgricultural Panel.

She was appointed whip of the Labour Senators in the Seanad. In May 2012, it was reported that she had the worst voting record amongst Labour Party Senators.A motion of no confidence in her was tabled by SenatorJohn Whelan,although later withdrawn. It was reported inThe Irish Timesthat "Ms O’Keeffe is considered by her critics to be too close to the leadership and inclined to play along with the official Labour Party line of accepting Fine Gael's proposal to abolish the Upper House."

At the2016 general election,she unsuccessfully contested theSligo–Leitrimconstituency. She was not re-elected to the Seanad.