Ruairi Quinn
Encyclopedia
Ruairi Quinn is an Irish
Labour Party
politician who has been Minister for Education and Skills since March 2011. He is currently a Teachta Dála
(TD) for the Dublin South East
constituency. He was Minister for Finance
from 1994 to 1997, and leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002.
area in the 1920s, taking an active part in the IRA
during the War of Independence
and the Civil War
. The Quinns were prosperous merchants in Newry
, County Down, but were forced to move south to Dublin in the 1930s where Quinn's father built a successful business career. Quinn was educated at Saint Michael's College, Ballsbridge, and Blackrock College
where he was academically successful and an outstanding athlete and a member of the Senior Cup rugby team. From an early age, he was interested in art and won the all-Ireland Texaco Children's Art competition. This led him to study architecture at University College Dublin
(UCD) in 1964 and later at the School of Ekistics
in Athens
.
In 1965, Quinn joined the Labour Party working for Michael O'Leary's successful campaign in Dublin North Central
. In the following years, Quinn was a leading student radical in UCD demanding reform of the University's structures and the old fashioned architectural course that then prevailed. He rejected the Catholicism of his youth and became an existential atheist
. He also travelled in Europe and became a europhile
which was to be a defining characteristic of his political career. He qualified as an architect in 1969 and married for the first time that year before embarking on studies in Athens. He and his first wife had a son and a daughter. He married again in 1990 and has a son with his second wife, Liz Allman who's family came from Milltown, Co.Kerry. He became employed as an architect with Dublin Corporation
in 1971.
In 1972, Quinn decided he would stand for the Labour Party in the next general election and hoped he would be the running mate of the sitting Labour deputy for Dublin South East, Noel Browne
. The party organisation was largely moribund since Browne's election in 1969
as Browne had been ill and little work had been done locally. When the election was called in February 1973
, Quinn found he was the only Labour Party candidate as Browne refused to stand in principled opposition to Labour's decision to enter into a pre-election pact with Fine Gael
to form a National Coalition
. Quinn lost by 39 votes to Fergus O'Brien
of Fine Gael in the final count. Following the 1973 election, Quinn began to rebuild the Labour Party in Dublin South East with his mainly youthful supporters. He won a council seat on Dublin Corporation
at the local elections in 1974 in the Pembroke
-Rathmines
local electoral area and took a leading role in the Labour Party group on the city council.
He was a partner in an architecture firm from 1973 to 1982. In 1976 he was nominated by the Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave
, to Seanad Éireann
when Brendan Halligan
won a by-election in Dublin South West
and his Senate seat became vacant. He was first elected a Labour Party TD for Dublin South East at the 1977 general election
. Quinn was at this time quite associated with environmental issues being the first professional architect and town planner ever elected to the Dáil. He served as environment spokesperson for the Labour Party and was very close to the party leader, Frank Cluskey
, whom he had voted for in the leadership contest of 1977. He lost his seat at the 1981 general election
and was elected to the 15th Seanad on the Industrial and Commercial Panel. He was re-elected as TD at the February 1982 general election and has retained his seat since.
at the Department of the Environment. Between 1983 and 1986 he served as Minister for Labour
. From 1986 to 1987 he was appointed Minister for the Public Service
, held in addition to the Labour portfolio. In 1989 he became deputy leader of the Labour Party. He was director of elections for Mary Robinson
's successful Presidential election campaign in 1990.
–Labour Party
coalition government of 1993–1994 Quinn became Minister for Enterprise and Employment
.
He oversaw the merger of the former Department of Industry and Commerce with the former Department of Labour, with a new focus on enterprise development and the reduction of the then high level of unemployment. Quinn implemented reform of industrial strategy and reorganised the industrial development agencies. He also introduced the Community Employment Programme to provide activity and involvement for unemployed workers in 1994. This proved to be particularly successful.
Quinn was seen as comfortable with the Fianna Fáil members of the cabinet. He also tended to be a moderniser in economic terms but, despite attempts, failed to close the Irish Steel company in Haulbowline
, County Cork
, a classic loss-making smoke stack industry that harked back to an earlier era. Nevertheless, it was in August, 1994, while Quinn and Fianna Fáil's Bertie Ahern
were economic ministers, that the Irish economy was first described as the "Celtic Tiger
".
Quinn, along with many of his Labour cabinet colleagues, strove unsuccessfully to keep the Fianna Fáil Labour Government together during the Father Brendan Smyth crisis in November 1994. He records in his autobiography that he still cannot understand why that Government fell.
in the Fine Gael
, Labour Party
and Democratic Left
"Rainbow Coalition" government. Quinn took a relatively conservative line as Finance Minister, being conscious of his position as the first Labour Minister for Finance in Irish political history. He quickly proved his competence, dispelling opposition jibes and stock market fears about a social democratic minister holding the sensitive finance portfolio. The Irish economy continued to perform, while inflation and the government finances were kept under firm control. Unemployment gradually fell and public debt levels improved.
During Quinn's tenure as Minister for Finance, the overall tax burden in Ireland (the ratio of tax revenue, including pay related social insurance levies, to gross national product) fell from 38.7% to 34.8%, of by 1.3 percentage points each year. He achieved this by limiting current government spending to grow by 6.8% in nominal terms or 4.8% in real terms, against a backdrop of improving economic fortunes, due to increasing investment in technology intensive sectors of the Irish economy.
Under Quinn, the General Government Balance went from a deficit of 2.1% in 1995 to a surplus of 1.1% in 1997. The General Government Debt went from 81% of GNP in 1995 to 63.6% in 1997. The year before Quinn became an economic Minister in 1993, Irish economic growth was 2.5% (1992). In 1993 GNP
growth was 3%; in 1994, 6.5%; in 1995, 8%; in 1996, 7.8%; and finally in 1997, 10.3%. The unemployment rate fell from 1993 to 1997 as follows: 15.7% in 1993; 14.7% in 1994; 12.2% in 1995; 11.9% in 1996; and finally, 10.3% in 1997.
Quinn served as the President of the Ecofin Council of the European Union
in 1996, and worked to accelerate the launch of the European Single Currency
, whilst securing Ireland's qualification for the eurozone
. Quinn, and his party leader and Tánaiste
, Foreign Minister Dick Spring
enjoyed a somewhat uneasy relationship during the Rainbow Coalition, as recounted in Quinn's 2005 memoir. At the 1997 general election
the Labour Party returned to opposition, winning only 17 of its outgoing 33 seats. Many other ministers of the Labour Party were under significant pressure from the media (particularly the Irish Independent
) concerning allegations of cronyism
("jobs for the boys") and abusing the privileges of office. In comparison, the opposition under Bertie Ahern
placed heavy reliance on cutting tax rates as opposed to widening tax bands favoured by Quinn. Ahern also claimed credit for the country's improving economy was due to his earlier term in government.
retired as leader of the Labour Party following an unsuccessful campaign by the Labour Party candidate, Adi Roche
, in the 1997 Irish presidential election
. Quinn defeated Brendan Howlin
to become the new leader. In 1999 the Labour Party and Democratic Left
merged. Proinsias De Rossa
of the latter party became the largely symbolic party president, while Quinn remained as leader of the party. He used the years of leadership to develop a strong policy platform, publishing a Spatial Strategy for future development of the country, promoting universal access to health insurance, advocating reform of the Garda Síochána
(police), and arguing for closer European integration. Fianna Fáil countered by cleverly exploiting Quinn's comfortable middle class background, labelling him "Mr Angry from Sandymount
," the middle class district of Dublin where Quinn is a longtime resident, and representative of, in the Dáil.
, which saw the ruling Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats
government re-elected, the Labour Party returned with 1 seat less than it had held previously. Quinn fought that election on an independent platform although he indicated a preference to enter government with Fine Gael
, which he had served with in the Rainbow coalition era. Quinn's strategy was predicated on the Labour Party holding the balance of power and keeping a distance from the two bigger parties. This underestimated the attraction for the electorate of the outgoing Ahern
Government that had enjoyed extraordinary economic growth and prosperity.
Realising that the choice was between a majority Fianna Fáil government on the one hand, or a government of Fianna Fáil in coalition with the Progressive Democrats, through their president, Michael McDowell
, a constituency rival of Quinn's, seized the moment and put themselves forward as the guarantor of the public interest in a new Fianna Fáil government. This left the Labour Party stranded and almost as irrelevant to the outcome of the election. Under the leadership of Michael Noonan
, Fine Gael lost 23 seats, being reduced to 31 seats, their worst performance in decades.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Democrats doubled their seats to eight and emerged with two full cabinet positions in a new coalition with Fianna Fáil. Quinn was gravely disappointed that, even though Labour had not lost seats in net numbers and Fine Gael had lost 23 seats, he had failed to increase the number of seats his party held, in an election that resulted in gains for small parties on the left end of the political spectrum, such as Sinn Féin
and the Green Party
. Quinn himself was re-elected on the last count by 600 votes. Accepting that he would now be in opposition for another term, and seeking to spend more time with his young family, Quinn announced that he would not seek re-election for another six year term as leader of the Labour Party, at the end of August 2002.
. When Rabbitte resigned as party leader in 2007, Quinn supported the successful candidacy of Eamon Gilmore
. His public support of Gilmore, where he also brought the endorsement of all the Dublin City Council
lors in his area, was seen as instrumental in discouraging other candidates from entering the race. Quinn caused anger and controversy when he refused to give up his Ministers pension worth €41,656 while sitting as a TD in 2009. He eventually backed down after pressure was put on him to give up the pension.
He led the European Movement Ireland
, a pro-EU lobby group in Ireland until late 2007, when he re-founded the Irish Alliance for Europe
to campaign on the Treaty of Lisbon
. Quinn is also Vice-President and Treasurer of the Party of European Socialists
. He is a brother of Lochlann Quinn, former Chairman of Allied Irish Banks
, and a first cousin of Senator Feargal Quinn
. His nephew, Oisín Quinn, is a Labour Party Dublin City Council
lor and former Dáil candidate.
In 2005, his political memoir
, Straight Left, was published.
but was defeated by John O'Donoghue
. Quinn became Labour Party spokesperson on Education and Science as a member of Eamon Gilmore
's front bench in September 2007. Quinn's local Labour Party holds five of the ten local authority council seats since the 2009 local elections, including his nephew, Oisin Quinn, who many see as his long term successor. He played a pivotal role in the successful second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in September 2009, and continues to be an office holder with the Party of European Socialists.
On 9 March 2011 Quinn was appointed Minister for Education and Skills in the new Fine Gael/Labour coalition government.
In April 2011 Quinn confirmed his support for the radical overhaul of the Junior Certificate
, which had been put in train by his predecessor, saying the exam is “no longer suitable as the main form of student assessment in lower-secondary education’’ and must be changed.
In May 2011 Quinn confirmed a u-turn on a pre-election pledge, made less than 100 days earlier to student voters and their parents, that he would reverse a proposed increase in third level student registration fees, instead providing for a €500 increase in the fee payable by students. In July 2011 Quinn has again refused to rule out the return of college fees as he acknowledged the funding crisis in the higher education sector. The Minister told a meeting of the Higher Education Authority
(HEA) the funding crisis in higher education will “not go away” for many years to come. Asked if new charges were planned he said: “I honestly can’t say. We are looking for efficiencies in the system at third level. “I am not ruling anything in or out until we get into the detailed negotiations with the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure . . . I have said to Brendan Howlin that I will deliver.”
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,...
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...
politician who has been Minister for Education and Skills since March 2011. He is currently 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 South East
Dublin South East (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin South–East is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
constituency. He was 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...
from 1994 to 1997, and leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002.
Early life
Quinn was born on 2 April 1946. His family were prominent republicans in the South DownCounty Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
area in the 1920s, taking an active part in the IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
during the War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
and the Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
. The Quinns were prosperous merchants in Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
, County Down, but were forced to move south to Dublin in the 1930s where Quinn's father built a successful business career. Quinn was educated at Saint Michael's College, Ballsbridge, and Blackrock College
Blackrock College
Blackrock College is a Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys aged 14–18, located in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. The College was founded by French missionaries in 1860, to act as a school and civil service training centre. Set in of grounds, it has an illustrious...
where he was academically successful and an outstanding athlete and a member of the Senior Cup rugby team. From an early age, he was interested in art and won the all-Ireland Texaco Children's Art competition. This led him to study architecture at 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...
(UCD) in 1964 and later at the School of Ekistics
Ekistics
The term Ekistics applies to the science of human settlements. It includes regional, city, community planning and dwelling design...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
In 1965, Quinn joined the Labour Party working for Michael O'Leary's successful campaign in Dublin North Central
Dublin North Central (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin North–Central is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...
. In the following years, Quinn was a leading student radical in UCD demanding reform of the University's structures and the old fashioned architectural course that then prevailed. He rejected the Catholicism of his youth and became an existential atheist
Atheist existentialism
Atheist existentialism or atheistic existentialism is a kind of existentialism which strongly diverged from the Christian works of Søren Kierkegaard and has developed within the context of an atheistic worldview....
. He also travelled in Europe and became a europhile
Europhile
A europhile is a person who is fond of, admires, or even loves European culture, society, history, food, etc. In politics, it may be used to imply Pro-Europeanism, or support for the European Union, often disapprovingly...
which was to be a defining characteristic of his political career. He qualified as an architect in 1969 and married for the first time that year before embarking on studies in Athens. He and his first wife had a son and a daughter. He married again in 1990 and has a son with his second wife, Liz Allman who's family came from Milltown, Co.Kerry. He became employed as an architect with Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation , known by generations of Dubliners simply as The Corpo, is the former name given to the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin between 1661 and 1 January 2002...
in 1971.
In 1972, Quinn decided he would stand for the Labour Party in the next general election and hoped he would be the running mate of the sitting Labour deputy for Dublin South East, Noel Browne
Noel Browne
Noël Christopher Browne was an Irish politician and doctor. He holds the distinction of being one of only five Teachtaí Dála to be appointed Minister on their first day in the Dáil. His controversial Mother and Child Scheme in effect brought down the First Inter-Party Government of John A...
. The party organisation was largely moribund since Browne's election in 1969
Irish general election, 1969
The Irish general election of 1969 was held on 18 June 1969. The newly elected members of the 19th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 2 July when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed...
as Browne had been ill and little work had been done locally. When the election was called in February 1973
Irish general election, 1973
The Irish general election of 1973 was held on 28 February 1973. The newly elected 144 members of the 20th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 4 March when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
, Quinn found he was the only Labour Party candidate as Browne refused to stand in principled opposition to Labour's decision to enter into a pre-election pact with 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...
to form a 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...
. Quinn lost by 39 votes to Fergus O'Brien
Fergus O'Brien
Fergus O'Brien is a former Irish Fine Gael politician, and a former Teachta Dála .Fergus O'Brien was born in Dublin in 1930. He was educated at the College of Technology at Bolton Street before becoming involved in politics. O'Brien was elected to Dáil Éireann on his second attempt at the 1973...
of Fine Gael in the final count. Following the 1973 election, Quinn began to rebuild the Labour Party in Dublin South East with his mainly youthful supporters. He won a council seat on Dublin Corporation
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:...
at the local elections in 1974 in the Pembroke
Pembroke Township
Pembroke Township was an area adjoining the City of Dublin, Ireland formed for local government purposes by private Act of Parliament in 1863. The township took its name from the fact that most of the area was part of the estate of the Earl of Pembroke. The township was governed by commissioners...
-Rathmines
Rathmines
Rathmines is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, about 3 kilometres south of the city centre. It effectively begins at the south side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranelagh to the east and Harold's Cross to the west.Rathmines has...
local electoral area and took a leading role in the Labour Party group on the city council.
He was a partner in an architecture firm from 1973 to 1982. In 1976 he was nominated by the Taoiseach, 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....
, 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...
when Brendan Halligan
Brendan Halligan
Brendan Halligan is an Irish economist and a former Labour Party politician.Brendan Halligan was born in Dublin in 1936. Educated at St James’s Christian Brothers School and Kevin Street College of Technology, Dublin, his early career was as an economist. He worked with the Irish Sugar Company...
won a by-election in 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 his Senate seat became vacant. He was first elected a Labour Party TD for Dublin South East at 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...
. Quinn was at this time quite associated with environmental issues being the first professional architect and town planner ever elected to the Dáil. He served as environment spokesperson for the Labour Party and was very close to the party leader, Frank Cluskey
Frank Cluskey
Frank Cluskey was an Irish politician and a former leader of the Irish Labour Party.Frank Cluskey was born on 1 April 1930 in Dublin. He worked as a butcher and then joined the Labour Party. He quickly became a branch secretary in the Workers' Union of Ireland. In the 1965 general election he was...
, whom he had voted for in the leadership contest of 1977. He lost his seat 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....
and was elected to the 15th Seanad on the Industrial and Commercial Panel. He was re-elected as TD at the February 1982 general election and has retained his seat since.
Early ministerial career
In 1982 he became Minister of StateMinister 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....
at the Department of the Environment. Between 1983 and 1986 he served as Minister for Labour
Minister for Labour (Ireland)
The Minister for Labour was originally the name of a government department in the Government of the Irish Republic, the self-declared state which was established in 1919 by Dáil Éireann, the parliamentary assembly made up of the majority of Irish MPs elected in the 1918 general election. Constance...
. From 1986 to 1987 he was appointed Minister for the Public Service
Minister for the Public Service (Ireland)
The Minister for the Public Service was a senior post in the Government of Ireland, it was created by the . In March 1987 the minister's functions were transferred to the Minister for Tourism and Transport after the department was amalgamated....
, held in addition to the Labour portfolio. In 1989 he became deputy leader of the Labour Party. He was director of elections for Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
's successful Presidential election campaign in 1990.
Minister for Enterprise and Employment
In the 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...
–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...
coalition government of 1993–1994 Quinn became Minister for Enterprise and Employment
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ireland)
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is the senior minister at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is Richard Bruton, TD...
.
He oversaw the merger of the former Department of Industry and Commerce with the former Department of Labour, with a new focus on enterprise development and the reduction of the then high level of unemployment. Quinn implemented reform of industrial strategy and reorganised the industrial development agencies. He also introduced the Community Employment Programme to provide activity and involvement for unemployed workers in 1994. This proved to be particularly successful.
Quinn was seen as comfortable with the Fianna Fáil members of the cabinet. He also tended to be a moderniser in economic terms but, despite attempts, failed to close the Irish Steel company in Haulbowline
Haulbowline
Haulbowline is the name of an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Ireland. It is the main naval base and headquarters for the Irish Naval Service.-Etymology:...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, a classic loss-making smoke stack industry that harked back to an earlier era. Nevertheless, it was in August, 1994, while Quinn and Fianna Fáil's Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
were economic ministers, that the Irish economy was first described as the "Celtic Tiger
Celtic Tiger
Celtic Tiger is a term used to describe the economy of Ireland during a period of rapid economic growth between 1995 and 2007. The expansion underwent a dramatic reversal from 2008, with GDP contracting by 14% and unemployment levels rising to 14% by 2010...
".
Quinn, along with many of his Labour cabinet colleagues, strove unsuccessfully to keep the Fianna Fáil Labour Government together during the Father Brendan Smyth crisis in November 1994. He records in his autobiography that he still cannot understand why that Government fell.
Minister for Finance
The following year he became Minister for FinanceMinister 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...
in the 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...
, 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...
and Democratic Left
Democratic Left (Ireland)
Democratic Left was a democratic socialist political party active in Ireland between 1992 and 1999. It came into being after a split in the Workers' Party and, after just seven years in existence, it merged into the Irish Labour Party.-Origins:...
"Rainbow Coalition" government. Quinn took a relatively conservative line as Finance Minister, being conscious of his position as the first Labour Minister for Finance in Irish political history. He quickly proved his competence, dispelling opposition jibes and stock market fears about a social democratic minister holding the sensitive finance portfolio. The Irish economy continued to perform, while inflation and the government finances were kept under firm control. Unemployment gradually fell and public debt levels improved.
During Quinn's tenure as Minister for Finance, the overall tax burden in Ireland (the ratio of tax revenue, including pay related social insurance levies, to gross national product) fell from 38.7% to 34.8%, of by 1.3 percentage points each year. He achieved this by limiting current government spending to grow by 6.8% in nominal terms or 4.8% in real terms, against a backdrop of improving economic fortunes, due to increasing investment in technology intensive sectors of the Irish economy.
Under Quinn, the General Government Balance went from a deficit of 2.1% in 1995 to a surplus of 1.1% in 1997. The General Government Debt went from 81% of GNP in 1995 to 63.6% in 1997. The year before Quinn became an economic Minister in 1993, Irish economic growth was 2.5% (1992). In 1993 GNP
GNP
Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...
growth was 3%; in 1994, 6.5%; in 1995, 8%; in 1996, 7.8%; and finally in 1997, 10.3%. The unemployment rate fell from 1993 to 1997 as follows: 15.7% in 1993; 14.7% in 1994; 12.2% in 1995; 11.9% in 1996; and finally, 10.3% in 1997.
Quinn served as the President of the Ecofin Council of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in 1996, and worked to accelerate the launch of the European Single Currency
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
, whilst securing Ireland's qualification for the eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
. Quinn, and his party leader and Tánaiste
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 :...
, Foreign Minister Dick Spring
Dick Spring
Richard "Dick" Spring is an Irish businessman and former politician. He was first elected as a Labour Party Teachta Dála in 1981 and retained his seat until 2002. He became leader of the Labour Party in 1982, and held this position until 1997...
enjoyed a somewhat uneasy relationship during the Rainbow Coalition, as recounted in Quinn's 2005 memoir. At the 1997 general election
Irish 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....
the Labour Party returned to opposition, winning only 17 of its outgoing 33 seats. Many other ministers of the Labour Party were under significant pressure from the media (particularly the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
) concerning allegations of cronyism
Cronyism
Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy....
("jobs for the boys") and abusing the privileges of office. In comparison, the opposition under Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
placed heavy reliance on cutting tax rates as opposed to widening tax bands favoured by Quinn. Ahern also claimed credit for the country's improving economy was due to his earlier term in government.
Accession to leadership
In October 1997, Dick SpringDick Spring
Richard "Dick" Spring is an Irish businessman and former politician. He was first elected as a Labour Party Teachta Dála in 1981 and retained his seat until 2002. He became leader of the Labour Party in 1982, and held this position until 1997...
retired as leader of the Labour Party following an unsuccessful campaign by the Labour Party candidate, Adi Roche
Adi Roche
Adi Roche is a campaigner for peace, humanitarian aid, and education. She is the chief executive of Irish-based charity Chernobyl Children's Project International, and in November 2010 received the Health Award at the World of Children Awards ceremony.-Campaign work:As founder and chief executive...
, in the 1997 Irish presidential election
Irish presidential election, 1997
-References:...
. Quinn defeated Brendan Howlin
Brendan Howlin
Brendan Howlin is an Irish Labour Party politician who has served as a Teachta Dála for Wexford since 1987. Currently the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, he previously served as Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Health.-Early life:Born into a highly...
to become the new leader. In 1999 the Labour Party and Democratic Left
Democratic Left (Ireland)
Democratic Left was a democratic socialist political party active in Ireland between 1992 and 1999. It came into being after a split in the Workers' Party and, after just seven years in existence, it merged into the Irish Labour Party.-Origins:...
merged. Proinsias De Rossa
Proinsias De Rossa
Proinsias De Rossa is an Irish Labour Party politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency. He a former President of the Workers' Party and subsequently leader of Democratic Left, and later, a senior member of the Labour Party. He was Minister for Social Welfare from...
of the latter party became the largely symbolic party president, while Quinn remained as leader of the party. He used the years of leadership to develop a strong policy platform, publishing a Spatial Strategy for future development of the country, promoting universal access to health insurance, advocating reform of the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
(police), and arguing for closer European integration. Fianna Fáil countered by cleverly exploiting Quinn's comfortable middle class background, labelling him "Mr Angry from Sandymount
Sandymount
Sandymount is a coastal seaside suburb in Dublin 4 on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It is in the Dublin South East Dáil constituency and the East Pembroke Ward. It was once part of Pembroke Township, which took its name from the fact that this area was part of the estate of the Earl of...
," the middle class district of Dublin where Quinn is a longtime resident, and representative of, in the Dáil.
2002 general election
At the 2002 general electionIrish 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...
, which saw the ruling Fianna Fáil and 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...
government re-elected, the Labour Party returned with 1 seat less than it had held previously. Quinn fought that election on an independent platform although he indicated a preference to enter government with 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...
, which he had served with in the Rainbow coalition era. Quinn's strategy was predicated on the Labour Party holding the balance of power and keeping a distance from the two bigger parties. This underestimated the attraction for the electorate of the outgoing Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
Government that had enjoyed extraordinary economic growth and prosperity.
Realising that the choice was between a majority Fianna Fáil government on the one hand, or a government of Fianna Fáil in coalition with the Progressive Democrats, through their president, 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...
, a constituency rival of Quinn's, seized the moment and put themselves forward as the guarantor of the public interest in a new Fianna Fáil government. This left the Labour Party stranded and almost as irrelevant to the outcome of the election. Under the leadership of Michael Noonan
Michael Noonan
Michael Noonan is an Irish Fine Gael politician and has been the Minister for Finance since March 2011. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Limerick East and later Limerick City constituencies since 1981....
, Fine Gael lost 23 seats, being reduced to 31 seats, their worst performance in decades.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Democrats doubled their seats to eight and emerged with two full cabinet positions in a new coalition with Fianna Fáil. Quinn was gravely disappointed that, even though Labour had not lost seats in net numbers and Fine Gael had lost 23 seats, he had failed to increase the number of seats his party held, in an election that resulted in gains for small parties on the left end of the political spectrum, such as Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and the Green Party
Green Party (Ireland)
The Green Party is a green political party in Ireland. It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes. The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and in 1987 was renamed to its current title in English...
. Quinn himself was re-elected on the last count by 600 votes. Accepting that he would now be in opposition for another term, and seeking to spend more time with his young family, Quinn announced that he would not seek re-election for another six year term as leader of the Labour Party, at the end of August 2002.
Post-leadership
In October 2002 Quinn's term as party leader expired and he retired as Labour leader, being replaced in a leadership election by Pat RabbittePat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
. When Rabbitte resigned as party leader in 2007, Quinn supported the successful candidacy of 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...
. His public support of Gilmore, where he also brought the endorsement of all the 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:...
lors in his area, was seen as instrumental in discouraging other candidates from entering the race. Quinn caused anger and controversy when he refused to give up his Ministers pension worth €41,656 while sitting as a TD in 2009. He eventually backed down after pressure was put on him to give up the pension.
He led the European Movement Ireland
European Movement Ireland
The European Movement Ireland is an independent not-for-profit that campaigns for every Irish person to get involved in the European Union and by doing so, help shape it. It is the oldest Irish organisation dealing with the EU, pre-dating Ireland’s membership of the EU in 1973 by almost twenty years...
, a pro-EU lobby group in Ireland until late 2007, when he re-founded the Irish Alliance for Europe
Irish Alliance for Europe
The Irish Alliance for Europe was founded in summer 2002 by Professor Brigid Laffan of University College Dublin in order to lead the civil society campaign in favour of the Treaty of Nice at the second Irish referendum. Adrian Langan was recruited as full-time Campaign Director from a similar,...
to campaign on the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
. Quinn is also Vice-President and Treasurer of the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
. He is a brother of Lochlann Quinn, former Chairman of Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. is a major commercial bank based in Ireland.AIB is one of the so called "big four" commercial banks in the state. The bank has one of the largest branch networks in Ireland; only Bank of Ireland fully rivals it. AIB offers a full range of personal and corporate banking...
, and a first cousin of Senator Feargal Quinn
Feargal Quinn
Feargal Quinn is an Irish politician, businessman, television personality and an independent member of Seanad Éireann.-Early and personal life:...
. His nephew, Oisín Quinn, is a Labour Party 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:...
lor and former Dáil candidate.
In 2005, his political memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, Straight Left, was published.
2007 general election
At the 2007 general election, Quinn increased his share of the poll by some 4% and was returned to the 30th Dáil. He was nominated for the post of Ceann ComhairleCeann Comhairle
The Ceann Comhairle is the chairman of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the Dáil from among their number in the first session after each general election...
but was defeated by John O'Donoghue
John O'Donoghue (politician)
John O'Donoghue is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Kerry South constituency from 1987 to 2011. He is a former Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas. He resigned as Ceann Comhairle on 13 October 2009 due to controversy about his...
. Quinn became Labour Party spokesperson on Education and Science as a member of 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...
's front bench in September 2007. Quinn's local Labour Party holds five of the ten local authority council seats since the 2009 local elections, including his nephew, Oisin Quinn, who many see as his long term successor. He played a pivotal role in the successful second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in September 2009, and continues to be an office holder with the Party of European Socialists.
2011 general election and Minister for Education
In September, 2010, Quinn was appointed the Labour Party's national director of elections for the 2011 General Election by Gilmore. He had been selected along with Cllr Kevin Humphreys to be a candidate for Labour in that election. Both Quinn and Humphreys were elected to the 31st Dail on 27 February 2011, by clever vote management that saw the Labour Party in Dublin South East secure two seats with only a quarter of the first preference vote.On 9 March 2011 Quinn was appointed Minister for Education and Skills in the new Fine Gael/Labour coalition government.
In April 2011 Quinn confirmed his support for the radical overhaul of the Junior Certificate
Junior Certificate
The Junior Certificate is an educational qualification awarded in Ireland by the Department of Education to students who have successfully completed the junior cycle of secondary education, and achieved a minimum standard in their Junior Cert. examinations...
, which had been put in train by his predecessor, saying the exam is “no longer suitable as the main form of student assessment in lower-secondary education’’ and must be changed.
In May 2011 Quinn confirmed a u-turn on a pre-election pledge, made less than 100 days earlier to student voters and their parents, that he would reverse a proposed increase in third level student registration fees, instead providing for a €500 increase in the fee payable by students. In July 2011 Quinn has again refused to rule out the return of college fees as he acknowledged the funding crisis in the higher education sector. The Minister told a meeting of the Higher Education Authority
Higher Education Authority
The Higher Education Authority is the authority in Ireland with responsibility for higher education since 1968 and placed on a statutory basis in 1971. The authority supports HEAnet, part of the GEANT network....
(HEA) the funding crisis in higher education will “not go away” for many years to come. Asked if new charges were planned he said: “I honestly can’t say. We are looking for efficiencies in the system at third level. “I am not ruling anything in or out until we get into the detailed negotiations with the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure . . . I have said to Brendan Howlin that I will deliver.”