Richie Ryan (politician)
Encyclopedia
Richie Ryan is a former Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 politician.

Richie Ryan was born in Dublin in 1929. He was educated at Synge Street CBS
Synge Street CBS
Synge Street CBS is a Christian Brothers School in Dublin 8, Ireland. It was founded in 1864.-Primary school:The primary section caters for boys from seven to twelve years. It is called Sancta Maria CBS. It opened in 1954.-Secondary school:...

, University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

, where he studied economics and jurisprudence, and the Incorporated Law School of Ireland subsequently qualifying as a solicitor. A formidable orator, at UCD he was auditor of the Literary and Historical Debating Society (the L&H) and subsequently the Solicitors Apprentice Debating Society (1950) and won both socieites' gold medal for debating. He continues to serve as one of the Honorary Vice-Presidents of the L&H.

After qualifying Ryan worked for a number of solicitors firms before establsihing a private practice in Dame Street in Dublin, in which he remained an active partner until appointed to ministerial office in 1973. He first held political office when he was elected to 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...

 in a 1959 by-election as a Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 TD
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...

 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...

 and retained his seat until he retired at the Feb 1982 General Election to concentrate on his 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...

 seat.

In opposition Ryan served as Fine Gael Spokesperson on Health and Social Welfare (1966-1970) and on Foreign Affairs & Northern Ireland (1970-1973). During this period he was involved in a number of important pro bono legal cases, including the 1963 challenge in the High Court, and then, on appeal, in the Supreme Court in 1964, by Gladys Ryan (no relation) on the constitutionality of the fluoridation of the water supply. While the court ruled against Gladys Ryan, the case remains a landmark as it estabished the right to privacy under the Irish Constitution (or pehaps more correctly, the right to bodily integrity under Article 40.3.1,).[1] The case also raised a legal controversy due to the introduction by Justice Kenny of the concept of unenumerated rights.[2] Other notable cases involving Richie Ryan include a challenge to the rules governing the draftng of constituency boundaries and an (unsuccessful) attempt to randomise the order of candidates on ballot papers (due to preponderance of TD's with surnames from the start of the alphabet due to party-list voting by electors).

In 1973 Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 came to power and Ryan became Minister for Finance
Minister for Finance (Ireland)
The Minister for Finance is the title held by the Irish government minister responsible for all financial and monetary matters. The office-holder controls the Department of Finance and is considered one of the most important members of the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Finance is...

. He presided over a tough four years in the National Coalition
Government of the 20th Dáil
The 20th Dáil was elected at the 1973 general election on 28 February 1973 and first met on 14 March when the 14th Government of Ireland was appointed...

 under Liam Cosgrave
Liam Cosgrave
Liam Cosgrave is an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach and as Leader of Fine Gael . He was a Teachta Dála from 1943 to 1981....

, during the 1970's oil crisis. He was variously lampooned as "Richie Ruin" on the Irish satire show Hall's Pictorial Weekly
Hall's Pictorial Weekly
Hall's Pictorial Weekly, Incorporating the Provincial Vindicator is an Irish satirical television series which was broadcast on Radio Telefís Éireann from 1971 to 1980....

.
and as "Red Richie" for his governments introduction of a wealth tax. Following 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...

 Fine Gael were out of power, and Ryan once again became Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs.

Ryan also served as a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 (MEP) in 1973 and from 1977 to 1979, being appointed to Ireland's first delegation
MEPs for Ireland 1973
This is a list of the 10 Members of the European Parliament for Ireland appointed to the delegation from the Oireachtas as a result of the Irish accession to the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973. The first delegation, served only two months, from 1 January 1973 until the 1973 general...

 and third delegation
MEPs for Ireland 1977-1979
The following are the 10 Members of the European Parliament for Ireland appointed to the delegation from the Oireachtas after the 1977 general election who served from December 1977 until the first direct elections in 1979.*Denotes outgoing MEP...

. At the first direct elections to the European Parliament
European Parliament election, 1979 (Ireland)
The 1979 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 1979 European Parliament election. These were the first direct elections to the European Parliament...

 in 1979, he was elected for the Dublin constituency
Dublin (European Parliament constituency)
Dublin is a constituency of the European Parliament in Ireland. It elects 3 Members of the European Parliament using the single transferable vote form of proportional representation .-History and boundaries:...

, and was re-elected in uropean Parliament election, 1984 (Ireland)|1984] heading the poll on both occasions. This appears to have been a belated recognition that his stewartship of the economy during the 1973 -1977 period had been a comparative success, and an implicit criticism of the economics policies followed by the subsequent administration.

On being appointed to the European Court of Auditors
European Court of Auditors
The Court of Auditors is the fifth institution of the European Union . It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg to audit the accounts of EU institutions...

 in 1986 he resigned his seat and was succeeded by Chris O'Malley
Chris O'Malley
Chris O'Malley is a former Irish politician. He was appointed to the European Parliament in 1986 for the Dublin constituency following the resignation of Richie Ryan. He lost his seat at the 1989 European election. In 2003, he was co-opted for the Labour Party to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County...

. He retired from his position at the Court of Auditors in 1994. After retirement he continued in a number of imporant roles, including as a Commisioner of Irish Lights (until 2004) and a spell as Chairman of the Irish Red Cross in 1998.

External links

1. http://fluoridereport.com/wfdrhb.htm
2. http://www.nuigalway.ie/law/GSLR/2006/Symposium.pdf
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