James Heffernan (Irish politician)

James Heffernan
Senator
In office
April 2011 – April 2016
Constituency Agricultural Panel
Personal details
Born (1979-10-03) 3 October 1979
Limerick, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Political party Social Democrats (2015–16)
Other political
affiliations
Alma mater University of Limerick
Profession Former teacher

James Heffernan (born 3 October 1979) is a former Irish Labour Party politician.[1]

Background

He is from a Limerick hurling family, with his father and brother, both called Pat, having played for the county.[2]

Heffernan was heavily involved with Labour Youth during his time in university, serving on the organisation's internal disciplinary committee.

Career

Primary-school teacher

A graduate of the University of Limerick, Heffernan is a primary school teacher by profession. Before becoming a full-time politician, Heffernan taught in a number of schools, including St Anne's in Whitechapel, London.

Labour politician

He was elected to the 24th Seanad in April 2011 on the Agricultural Panel for the Labour Party.[3] He was previously a member of Limerick County Council from 2009–11 for the Kilmallock electoral area. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2011 general election for the Limerick constituency, polling 7,910 first preference votes (17.5%).[4] He was also a candidate at 2007 general election for the Limerick West constituency.

He lost the parliamentary Labour Party whip in December 2012 after voting against the government on the Social Welfare Bill.[5] The loss of the whip resulted in a falloff in Heffernan's Seanad voting attendance. In September 2013, it was reported that Heffernan attended only 23% of all votes in the Seanad, the second worst record.[6]

Proposed new party

In February 2015, he claimed he was forming a new political party in order to oppose Sinn Féin.[7]

Social Democrats

On 4 September 2015, the Social Democrats announced that Heffernan was one of their five election candidates.[8]

Drunken behaviour

Between 31 July 31 and 2 August 2016, Heffernan was allegedly arrested 3 times for offences including spitting at Gardaí, and drunken behaviour while attending Indiependence Music & Arts Festival in Mitchelstown, County Cork.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Mr. James Heffernan". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "Irish Election » Meet James Heffernan: Labour's Candidate in West Limerick". www.irishelection.com. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  3. ↑ "Counting continues in Seanad election". RTÉ News. 27 April 2011.
  4. ↑ "James Heffernan". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Heffernan defies Labour whip on Bill". The Irish Times. 20 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Revealed: one in four senators miss each vote". Irish Independent,. 23 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Heffernan's party to challenge 'baloney Republicans'". Limerick Leader. 1 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Social Democrats reveal five election candidates". BreakingNews.ie. 4 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "Ex-senator held three times over weekend had a previous arrest". Irish Independent. 3 August 2016.
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