Alan Kelly (politician)

Alan Kelly TD
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office 4 July 2014 – 20 May 2016
Leader	Joan Burton
Preceded by	Joan Burton
Succeeded by	Office not in use
Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government
In office 11 July 2014 – 6 May 2016
Taoiseach	Enda Kenny
Preceded by	Phil Hogan
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of State for Public and Commuter Transport
In office 10 March 2011 – 11 July 2014
Taoiseach	Enda Kenny
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2016
Constituency	Tipperary
In office February 2011 – February 2016
Constituency	Tipperary North
Member of the European Parliament
In office 1 July 2009 – 9 March 2011
Constituency	South
Senator
In office 24 July 2007 – 8 June 2009
Constituency	Agricultural Panel
Personal details
Born	Alan Thomas Kelly[1] (1975-07-13) 13 July 1975 Portroe, County Tipperary, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Labour Party
Spouse(s)	Regina O'Connor (m. 2007)
Children	2
Education	Nenagh CBS
Alma mater	University College Cork University College Dublin
Website	Official website

Alan Thomas Kelly (born 13 July 1975) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Tipperary constituency since the 2016 general election. He previously served as Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and Deputy leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016 and Minister of State for Public and Commuter Transport from 2011 to 2014. He was a Member of the European Parliament for the South constituency from 2009 to 2011 and a Senator for the Agricultural Panel from 2007 to 2009.^[2]

Early and private life

Kelly is from Portroe just outside Nenagh, County Tipperary. He is the son of Tom and Nan Kelly. Educated at Nenagh CBS, he subsequently attended University College Cork (UCC), where he completed a BA in English and History in 1995. Two years later he completed a M.Phil in Political History. Kelly continued his education at Boston College, where he achieved a Certificate in Leadership in 1999. He returned to Ireland shortly after this and completed a MBS in eCommerce in 2002. Kelly subsequently worked as an eBusiness Manager with Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland.

Kelly is married to Regina O'Connor, a primary school teacher who was raised in Waterville, County Kerry. The couple have two children; a daughter and a son.

Youth politics

Kelly is thought to have been politicised from an early age. In his final year of secondary school, he canvassed for the Labour Party during the 1992 general election. He remained active in left-wing politics in university, firstly by establishing the Jim Kemmy Branch of the Labour Party in UCC. He then became involved in a number of by-elections, local election campaigns in Cork and in the wider Munster area.

Kelly became Chair of Labour Youth in 2000, having previously served as Co-Chair.

Seanad Éireann: 2007–2009

In 2007, Kelly launched his own political career when he secured election to Seanad Éireann for the Agricultural Panel. He was the only Labour Party candidate in that grouping.^[3] After the election of Eamon Gilmore as leader of the Labour Party in 2007, Kelly was appointed as Labour Party Spokesperson on Tourism and was Seanad Spokesperson on Finance and Local Government.

European Parliament: 2009–2011

Kelly was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the South constituency, at the 2009 European Parliament election, taking the last seat in a tight battle between him, Sinn Féin's Toireasa Ferris and the Independent Kathy Sinnott.^[4][5] Kelly was a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

Dáil Éireann: 2011–present

Though he promised he would see out his five-year term in the European Parliament, Kelly allowed his name go forward as a Labour Party candidate at the 2011 general election. He ran in the Tipperary North constituency and was successful, receiving 9,559 first preference votes (19.8%) and securing the third and final seat at the expense of Fianna Fáil's sitting TD, Máire Hoctor. Phil Prendergast replaced him as MEP for the South constituency.

When the new coalition government was formed Kelly joined the junior ministerial ranks as Minister of State for Public and Commuter Transport.^[6]

In May 2014, Kelly confirmed that he would be contesting the vote for a new deputy leader of the Labour party following the resignation of Eamon Gilmore as party leader.^[7]

He was elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party on 4 July 2014.^[8] On 11 July 2014, he was appointed Minister of the Environment, Community and Local Government.^[9]

In January 2015, it was announced that his leader Joan Burton had nominated Kelly for the roles of Labour's director of elections and chair of Labour's national campaign committee ahead of the upcoming general election.^[10]

Following the election, Kelly remained Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in an acting capacity during prolonged talks on government formation. On Sunday 24 April 2016, he represented the government at the official U.S. commemoration of the Centenary of the Easter Rising in Manhattan, New York.

Shortly afterwards, on Friday 13 May 2016, Kelly announced his intention to seek leadership of the Labour Party.^[11] He then failed to attract a nomination from his parliamentary colleagues, resulting in the unopposed appointment of Brendan Howlin as the new leader.^[12] Grassroots efforts to put pressure on members of the parliamentary party were unsuccessful. The parliamentary party also decided not to nominate any candidates for the position of deputy leader, leaving Kelly's previous position vacant.

In September 2017, Kelly called on the HPV vaccine to be given to all school boys in Ireland. The vaccine's roll out among Irish girls had recently been subject to news coverage following controversy over its alleged side effects.^[13]

In August 2018, Kelly tried to challenge to his party's leader Brendan Howlin.^[14] His challenge failed due to lack of support from his parliamentary colleagues.^[15]

References

External links

• Official website
• Alan Kelly's page on the Labour Party website