Mary Harney
Encyclopedia
Mary Harney is a former Irish politician. She served as Tánaiste
from 1997–2006, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 1997–2004, and as Minister for Health and Children from 2004 to 2011. She also served as a Teachta Dála
(TD) for the Dublin Mid West
and Dublin South West
constituencies from 1981 to 2011.
She was leader of the Progressive Democrats
party between 1993–2006 and again from 2007–08. She resumed her role as leader in 2007 after her successor, Michael McDowell
, lost his seat at the 2007 general election. She is the longest ever serving female member of Dáil Éireann
.
in 1953. Her parents, who lived in nearby Ahascragh
, were both farmers but her family moved to Newcastle, County Dublin
shortly after her birth. She was educated at the Convent of Mercy, Inchicore
and Presentation Convent, Clondalkin
before studying at Trinity College, Dublin
.
During her time at university, she made history by becoming the first female auditor of the College Historical Society
. In 1976, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
in Modern Studies and for a brief time was a secondary school
teacher at Castleknock College
in Dublin.
leader Jack Lynch
and stood unsuccessfully as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the 1977 general election
. She was then appointed to Seanad Éireann
by Lynch who had become Taoiseach
. At aged 24, she was the youngest ever member of the Seanad when appointed.
In 1979, Harney had her first electoral success when she was elected to Dublin County Council
. Two years later she was elected to the Dáil at the 1981 general election
for Dublin South West
. She retained her seat at every election until her retirement in 2011. As a leading member of the so-called Gang of 22
, she was expelled from the party after voting in favour of the Anglo-Irish Agreement
in 1985.
and Bobby Molloy
in December 1985.
In 1989, the Progressive Democrats entered into a coalition
government with Haughey's Fianna Fáil party. Harney was appointed Minister of State
with responsibility for Environmental Protection. As Minister of State, she legislated to ban the sale of bituminous coal in Dublin, thereby eliminating smog from the city. She served in this position until the party withdrew from government in late 1992. In February 1993, Harney was appointed Deputy leader of the Progressive Democrats and succeeded O'Malley as party leader in October of that year.
and lengthy negotiations, the Progressive Democrats entered into coalition government with Fianna Fáil. Harney was appointed the first female Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Following the 2002 general election
Harney led the Progressive Democrats, who had doubled their seats from four to eight, back into coalition with Fianna Fáil, the first time a government had been re-elected since 1969. She was re-appointed Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment but was reported in 2003 as seeking a change. In a government reshuffle on 29 September 2004, she was appointed Minister for Health and Children.
Harney was Ireland's representative to the European Council of Ministers for the Software Patents Directive. Since the Council's first reading fell during the Irish Presidency of the European Council, she was chair of the meeting that discarded the amendments by the European Parliament
which confirmed the exclusion of software innovations from what constitutes patentable subject matter.
In December 2001, Harney used a Government plane, 50% funded by the European Commission
, to travel to County Leitrim
to open a friend's off-licence in Manorhamilton. Harney later apologised for having abused her position in using the plane for non-government business and admitted that using the plane was wrong. The aircraft was to be used 90% of the time exclusively for maritime surveillance.
In May 2006, the Irish Nurses Organisation unanimously passed a motion of no confidence in Mary Harney, accusing her of being negative and antagonistic towards nurses. Her policy of transferring private beds in public hospitals to privately operated hospitals has also attracted criticism.
In March 2006, 16 months after she took office as health minister, the INO claimed that a record number of 455 people were waiting on hospital trolleys on one day (although the Health Service Executive
gave a figure of 363 people waiting on hospital trolleys for the same day). In June 2006, the Health Consumer Powerhouse ranked the Irish health service as the second least "consumer-friendly" in the European Union and Switzerland, coming 25th out of 26 countries, ahead of Lithuania. However, in the same survey conducted a year later, the Irish health service showed significant improvement, coming 16th out of 29 countries. Ireland even scored higher than Britain's NHS
which came 17th in the survey.
In July 2006, Ireland on Sunday
reported that Mary Harney's mother, Mrs Sarah Harney, jumped a queue of two emergency cases to receive hip surgery at The Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Tallaght
. The allegation was strongly denied by the minister. Sixty percent of respondents to an Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll in December 2006 said that the appointment of Harney to the position of Minister for Health had not led to any improvement in the health service. Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Harney's own Progressive Democrats supporters were those who expressed most satisfaction with people in Dublin also feeling most dissatisfaction regionally. Harney rejected criticisms from Fine Gael during the same month that there had been a 25% increase in people waiting on trolleys in regional hospitals during the past two years; she claimed Health Service Executive statistics showed otherwise.
In July and August 2006, she issued three orders exempting two new community nursing units, to be built at St. Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park
, from the usual legally required planning permission, despite the Park being a designated and protected national monument. The Department of Health said the decision was made because of what it called the department's "emergency response to the accident and emergency crisis at the time", although the nursing units, in use since 2008, are mainly for geriatric care.
The same year, in her capacity as Minister for Health, Mary Harney introduced risk equalisation into the Irish healthcare market. This was hugely resisted by BUPA. However, despite High Court proceedings, the controversial law was upheld. This forced BUPA out of the Irish healthcare market (BUPA Ireland was since bought by the Irish owned Quinn Group, averting any fear of redundancies). In January 2007, a leaked memo said that the planned Cancer Care Strategy, due for completion in 2011, would not be delivered on time. Harney denied this and said that since the leaking of the memo there had been much progress, although she did not elaborate. The plan was to allow for nationwide radiotherapy services by 2011.
after Tom Parlon
and backbencher Liz O'Donnell
nominated him. Parlon became party president and O'Donnell Deputy Leader in an agreement with McDowell after much speculation that the pair would also seek the leadership.
, Harney resumed her role as party leader. The Progressive Democrats' rules at the time stipulated that the leader of the party must be a TD, and since Harney was one of only two remaining TDs, she resumed the leadership in a caretaker capacity. Following a rule change that broadened the eligibility, she was succeeded by Senator Ciarán Cannon
as party leader on 17 April 2008.
When the Progressive Democrats voted to disband in November 2008, Harney said she would remain as an independent TD once the party was wound up.
She did not stand for re-election at the 2011 general election.
, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and to officials at two prominent Dublin fertility clinics on 29 February 2008.
trip to Florida in 2004, at a cost of up to €80,000 to taxpayers. She travelled to Florida with senior FÁS executives, department officials, and her husband, Brian Geoghegan, and was receiving more than €100-a-day subsistence money from the taxpayer when FÁS picked up her hairdressing bill in a Florida hotel. Like all government ministers travelling abroad, she was entitled to a daily allowance for "incidental expenses".
In a RTÉ Radio 1
interview on 27 November 2008, Fianna Fáil
TD Mary O'Rourke
described Harney's involvement in the scandal as "a load of hoo-hah". On 28 November 2008, Harney defended her use of expenses while on a FÁS trip to the US, saying that she was "not on holiday", had not used public taxes for her own personal grooming, said the use of the government jet for the trip was made by the Taoiseach, and had followed advice in claiming her expenses. She acknowledged meeting a relative for an hour while in the United States. The Labour Party
leader Eamon Gilmore
told his party conference that Harney should resign because of her performance as Minister for Health.
member of Dublin City Council
. The paint thrower was later released and allowed to go free. Pictures of Harney covered in red paint circulated around the world. Broadcaster Vincent Browne
said afterwards that Mary Harney was "deserving of special shame".
Harney's car was attacked with eggs and cheese on 12 November 2010 as she arrived in Nenagh
. Her "ongoing downgrading of the hospital" was to blame.
. In 2002 she settled a libel case with Magill
magazine for around €25,000 and in 2004 she settled a case against the Sunday Independent
for €70,000, donating both sums to Beamount Hospital, Dublin.
Brian Cowen
. She also stated that she would not be contesting the 2011 general election. Harney retired with a package worth more than €300,000 and is entitled to an annual pension of over €120,000. She receives an annual ministerial pension of over €70,000 and a TD's pension of €50,600. She also received a pension lump sum of €160,000, a termination lump sum of about €17,000 and monthly termination payments from the Oireachtas during her first 12 months of retirement worth another €66,900.
She receives annual pension payments of €129,805.
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
from 1997–2006, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 1997–2004, and as Minister for Health and Children from 2004 to 2011. She also served as a Teachta Dála
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
(TD) for the Dublin Mid West
Dublin Mid West (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin Mid–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
and Dublin South West
Dublin South West (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin South–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
constituencies from 1981 to 2011.
She was leader of the Progressive Democrats
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...
party between 1993–2006 and again from 2007–08. She resumed her role as leader in 2007 after her successor, Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
, lost his seat at the 2007 general election. She is the longest ever serving female member of Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
.
Early life
Harney was born in Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, County GalwayCounty Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
in 1953. Her parents, who lived in nearby Ahascragh
Ahascragh
Ahascragh is a village in east Galway, Ireland. It is located north-west of Ballinasloe on the Ahascragh/Bunowen River, a tributary of the River Suck. The R358 regional road passes through the village.-History:...
, were both farmers but her family moved to Newcastle, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
shortly after her birth. She was educated at the Convent of Mercy, Inchicore
Inchicore
-Location and access:Located five kilometres due west of the city centre, Inchicore lies south of the River Liffey, west of Kilmainham, north of Drimnagh and east of Ballyfermot. The majority of Inchicore is in the Dublin 8 postal district...
and Presentation Convent, Clondalkin
Clondalkin
-Today:Modern Clondalkin is a busy satellite town of Dublin, with a population of 43,929 in 2006. Retail facilities include Tesco Ireland- and Dunnes Stores-led shopping centres, and Aldi and Lidl stores on the Fonthill Road and New Nangor Road respectively, and the village centre is a base for...
before studying at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
During her time at university, she made history by becoming the first female auditor of the College Historical Society
College Historical Society (Trinity College, Dublin)
The College Historical Society is one of two main debating societies at Trinity College, Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. It was established within the college in 1770, but traces its origins to the society founded by the philosopher Edmund Burke in Dublin in 1747...
. In 1976, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Modern Studies and for a brief time was a secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
teacher at Castleknock College
Castleknock College
Castleknock College is a private , secondary school for boys aged between 13 and 18, which is situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, 8 km west of the city centre in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
in Dublin.
Fianna Fáil
Harney came to the attention of Fianna FáilFianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
leader Jack Lynch
Jack Lynch
John Mary "Jack" Lynch was the Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office; from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979....
and stood unsuccessfully as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the 1977 general election
Irish general election, 1977
The Irish general election of 1977 was held on 16 June 1977 and is regarded as a pivotal point in twentieth century Irish politics. The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 148 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann. The number of...
. She was then appointed to Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
by Lynch who had become Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
. At aged 24, she was the youngest ever member of the Seanad when appointed.
In 1979, Harney had her first electoral success when she was elected to Dublin County Council
Dublin County Council
Dublin County Council was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. It was established by the Local Government Act 1898....
. Two years later she was elected to the Dáil at the 1981 general election
Irish general election, 1981
The Irish general election of 1981 was held on 11 June 1981, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 21 May. The newly elected 166 members of the 22nd Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 30 June when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
for Dublin South West
Dublin South West (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin South–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
. She retained her seat at every election until her retirement in 2011. As a leading member of the so-called Gang of 22
Gang of 22
The "Gang of 22" was a group of Fianna Fáil Teachtaí Dála who were opposed to the leadership of Charles Haughey in the early 1980s...
, she was expelled from the party after voting in favour of the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland...
in 1985.
Progressive Democrats
Harney went on to become a founder-member of the Progressive Democrats with Desmond O'MalleyDesmond O'Malley
Desmond Joseph "Des" O'Malley is a former Irish politician.Born in Limerick, O'Malley was raised in a local political dynasty that had a strong association with Fianna Fáil. Elected to Dáil Éireann in 1968, he quickly became a trusted confidante of Taoiseach Jack Lynch...
and Bobby Molloy
Bobby Molloy
Robert "Bobby" Molloy is an Irish former Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats politician, who served in a wide number of Cabinet poistions, most notably as Minister for Local Government, Minister for Defence and Minister for Energy....
in December 1985.
In 1989, the Progressive Democrats entered into a coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
government with Haughey's Fianna Fáil party. Harney was appointed Minister of State
Minister of State (Ireland)
A Minister of State in Ireland is of non-Cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the Government of Ireland....
with responsibility for Environmental Protection. As Minister of State, she legislated to ban the sale of bituminous coal in Dublin, thereby eliminating smog from the city. She served in this position until the party withdrew from government in late 1992. In February 1993, Harney was appointed Deputy leader of the Progressive Democrats and succeeded O'Malley as party leader in October of that year.
In government
Following the 1997 general electionIrish general election, 1997
The Irish general election of 1997 was held on Friday, 6 June 1997. The 166 newly elected members of the 28th Dáil assembled on 26 June 1997 when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
and lengthy negotiations, the Progressive Democrats entered into coalition government with Fianna Fáil. Harney was appointed the first female Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Following the 2002 general election
Irish general election, 2002
The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday, 17 May 2002 just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern...
Harney led the Progressive Democrats, who had doubled their seats from four to eight, back into coalition with Fianna Fáil, the first time a government had been re-elected since 1969. She was re-appointed Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment but was reported in 2003 as seeking a change. In a government reshuffle on 29 September 2004, she was appointed Minister for Health and Children.
Harney was Ireland's representative to the European Council of Ministers for the Software Patents Directive. Since the Council's first reading fell during the Irish Presidency of the European Council, she was chair of the meeting that discarded the amendments by the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
which confirmed the exclusion of software innovations from what constitutes patentable subject matter.
In December 2001, Harney used a Government plane, 50% funded by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, to travel to County Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
to open a friend's off-licence in Manorhamilton. Harney later apologised for having abused her position in using the plane for non-government business and admitted that using the plane was wrong. The aircraft was to be used 90% of the time exclusively for maritime surveillance.
In May 2006, the Irish Nurses Organisation unanimously passed a motion of no confidence in Mary Harney, accusing her of being negative and antagonistic towards nurses. Her policy of transferring private beds in public hospitals to privately operated hospitals has also attracted criticism.
In March 2006, 16 months after she took office as health minister, the INO claimed that a record number of 455 people were waiting on hospital trolleys on one day (although the Health Service Executive
Health Service Executive
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...
gave a figure of 363 people waiting on hospital trolleys for the same day). In June 2006, the Health Consumer Powerhouse ranked the Irish health service as the second least "consumer-friendly" in the European Union and Switzerland, coming 25th out of 26 countries, ahead of Lithuania. However, in the same survey conducted a year later, the Irish health service showed significant improvement, coming 16th out of 29 countries. Ireland even scored higher than Britain's NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
which came 17th in the survey.
In July 2006, Ireland on Sunday
Ireland on Sunday
Ireland on Sunday was a Sunday newspaper in the Republic of Ireland, published by Associated Newspapers Ireland Limited, a subsidiary of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc...
reported that Mary Harney's mother, Mrs Sarah Harney, jumped a queue of two emergency cases to receive hip surgery at The Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
. The allegation was strongly denied by the minister. Sixty percent of respondents to an Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll in December 2006 said that the appointment of Harney to the position of Minister for Health had not led to any improvement in the health service. Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Harney's own Progressive Democrats supporters were those who expressed most satisfaction with people in Dublin also feeling most dissatisfaction regionally. Harney rejected criticisms from Fine Gael during the same month that there had been a 25% increase in people waiting on trolleys in regional hospitals during the past two years; she claimed Health Service Executive statistics showed otherwise.
In July and August 2006, she issued three orders exempting two new community nursing units, to be built at St. Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
, from the usual legally required planning permission, despite the Park being a designated and protected national monument. The Department of Health said the decision was made because of what it called the department's "emergency response to the accident and emergency crisis at the time", although the nursing units, in use since 2008, are mainly for geriatric care.
The same year, in her capacity as Minister for Health, Mary Harney introduced risk equalisation into the Irish healthcare market. This was hugely resisted by BUPA. However, despite High Court proceedings, the controversial law was upheld. This forced BUPA out of the Irish healthcare market (BUPA Ireland was since bought by the Irish owned Quinn Group, averting any fear of redundancies). In January 2007, a leaked memo said that the planned Cancer Care Strategy, due for completion in 2011, would not be delivered on time. Harney denied this and said that since the leaking of the memo there had been much progress, although she did not elaborate. The plan was to allow for nationwide radiotherapy services by 2011.
Resignation as party leader
On 7 September 2006, Mary Harney announced that she was resigning as leader of the Progressive Democrats and that she would remain leader until a successor was chosen. She said she wanted to continue as Minister for Health but stated that it was a matter for her successor and the Taoiseach. She was succeeded by then Justice Minister Michael McDowellMichael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
after Tom Parlon
Tom Parlon
Tom Parlon is a former Irish Progressive Democrats politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Laois–Offaly constituency from 2002 to 2007 and was also the Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works...
and backbencher Liz O'Donnell
Liz O'Donnell
Liz O'Donnell is a former Irish Progressive Democrats politician. She was the Deputy Leader of the Progressive Democrats, and represented Dublin South as a Teachta Dála from 1992 to 2007....
nominated him. Parlon became party president and O'Donnell Deputy Leader in an agreement with McDowell after much speculation that the pair would also seek the leadership.
2007 election aftermath
Following the poor performance of the Progressive Democrats at the 2007 general election in which the party lost 6 of its 8 seats, including that of party leader Michael McDowellMichael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
, Harney resumed her role as party leader. The Progressive Democrats' rules at the time stipulated that the leader of the party must be a TD, and since Harney was one of only two remaining TDs, she resumed the leadership in a caretaker capacity. Following a rule change that broadened the eligibility, she was succeeded by Senator Ciarán Cannon
Ciarán Cannon
Ciarán Cannon is an Irish politician and the current Minister of State for Training and Skills. He is a Fine Gael Teachta Dála for Galway East since the 2011 general election. He is a former leader of the Progressive Democrats party.Before entering politics he was CEO and secretary of IHCPT –...
as party leader on 17 April 2008.
When the Progressive Democrats voted to disband in November 2008, Harney said she would remain as an independent TD once the party was wound up.
She did not stand for re-election at the 2011 general election.
Death threat 2008
Letters containing death threats and shotgun cartridges, from a group calling itself the Irish Citizens Defence Force, were mailed to Harney, Micheál MartinMicheál Martin
Micheál Martin is an Irish politician who has been leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He is a Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency...
, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and to officials at two prominent Dublin fertility clinics on 29 February 2008.
FÁS expenditure controversy
It emerged in November 2008, that Harney personally requested the use of the Government jet for a FÁSForas Áiseanna Saothair
An Foras Áiseanna Saothair , referred to in English as the Training and Employment Authority and commonly known as FÁS , is a state agency in Ireland with responsibility for assisting those seeking employment...
trip to Florida in 2004, at a cost of up to €80,000 to taxpayers. She travelled to Florida with senior FÁS executives, department officials, and her husband, Brian Geoghegan, and was receiving more than €100-a-day subsistence money from the taxpayer when FÁS picked up her hairdressing bill in a Florida hotel. Like all government ministers travelling abroad, she was entitled to a daily allowance for "incidental expenses".
In a RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
interview on 27 November 2008, Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
TD Mary O'Rourke
Mary O'Rourke
Mary O'Rourke is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. She is a former Teachta Dála for the Longford–Westmeath and Westmeath constituencies. She served as Minister for Education , Minister for Health and Minister for Public Enterprise...
described Harney's involvement in the scandal as "a load of hoo-hah". On 28 November 2008, Harney defended her use of expenses while on a FÁS trip to the US, saying that she was "not on holiday", had not used public taxes for her own personal grooming, said the use of the government jet for the trip was made by the Taoiseach, and had followed advice in claiming her expenses. She acknowledged meeting a relative for an hour while in the United States. The Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
leader Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has been the Leader of the Labour Party since September 2007, and a Teachta Dála for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since 1989, first with the Workers' Party of Ireland, and...
told his party conference that Harney should resign because of her performance as Minister for Health.
2010 attacks
Harney was attacked with red paint on 1 November 2010 as she turned the sod on a new health centre beside the Cherry Orchard Hospital in Ballyfermot. Her attacker was Councillor Louise Minihan, an ÉirígíÉirígí
-External links:*...
member of Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...
. The paint thrower was later released and allowed to go free. Pictures of Harney covered in red paint circulated around the world. Broadcaster Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post and a part time barrister....
said afterwards that Mary Harney was "deserving of special shame".
Harney's car was attacked with eggs and cheese on 12 November 2010 as she arrived in Nenagh
Nenagh
Nenagh is the county town of North Tipperary in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of North Tipperary and in 2011 it had a recorded population of 7,995. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower...
. Her "ongoing downgrading of the hospital" was to blame.
Libel cases
In May 2011 Harney received a €450,000 payout from Newstalk radio in compensation for a slur made about her on live air by journalist Nell McCaffertyNell McCafferty
Nell McCafferty is an Irish journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner and feminist. In her journalistic work she has written for The Irish Press, The Irish Times, Sunday Tribune, Hot Press and The Village Voice....
. In 2002 she settled a libel case with Magill
Magill
Magill was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. Magill was widely perceived as groundbreaking, specialising in in-depth investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann and Gene Kerrigan...
magazine for around €25,000 and in 2004 she settled a case against the Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
for €70,000, donating both sums to Beamount Hospital, Dublin.
Retirement
On 15 January 2011, Harney tendered her resignation as Minister for Health and Children to TaoiseachTaoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...
. She also stated that she would not be contesting the 2011 general election. Harney retired with a package worth more than €300,000 and is entitled to an annual pension of over €120,000. She receives an annual ministerial pension of over €70,000 and a TD's pension of €50,600. She also received a pension lump sum of €160,000, a termination lump sum of about €17,000 and monthly termination payments from the Oireachtas during her first 12 months of retirement worth another €66,900.
She receives annual pension payments of €129,805.
Personal life
In November 2001, Harney married Brian Geoghegan, a businessman, in a low-key afternoon ceremony in Dublin on a day in which she attended to a number of significant political meetings.External links
- Mary Harney's profile on the Progressive Democrat party website from the Wayback machine