Stephen Donnelly

Stephen Donnelly (born 14 December 1975) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister for Health since June 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency since 2011.[3][4]

For the Australian politician, see Stephen Donnelly (Australian politician).

Stephen Donnelly

TD
Minister for Health
Assumed office
27 June 2020
TaoiseachMicheál Martin
Preceded bySimon Harris
Leader of the Social Democrats
with Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall
In office
15 July 2015 – 5 September 2016
Preceded byNew office
Succeeded byCatherine Murphy
Róisín Shortall
Teachta Dála
Assumed office
February 2011
ConstituencyWicklow
Personal details
Born (1975-12-14) 14 December 1975
Delgany, County Wicklow, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Political partyFianna Fáil (since 2017)[1]
Other political
affiliations		Social Democrats (2015–2016) Independent
(2011–2015, 2016–2017)
Spouse(s)Susan Leavy (m. 2005)[2]
Children3
Alma mater
Websitestephendonnelly.ie

Upon his election to Dáil Éireann, Donnelly first sat as an Independent deputy, he then became co-founder and joint leader of the Social Democrats in 2015.[5] He left the Social Democrats in 2016, and represented Wicklow as an independent before joining Fianna Fáil in February 2017.[6][1]

Education and career

Donnelly is a graduate of University College Dublin (UCD) with a degree in mechanical engineering.[7] He also worked and studied in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[8] In 2000, Donnelly moved to London, where he worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.[9]

In 2008, he completed a master's degree in Public Administration in International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He returned to work for McKinsey and Company, in Dublin, before deciding to run for office in 2011.[10]

Political career

In October 2012, he addressed Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, in Dáil Éireann, on behalf of the technical group, saying: "€67 billion is being borrowed from the troika, virtually all of which is going into the banks and almost the same amount is being given by the banks to the senior bondholders in terms of forgone losses. This is what has happened: there has been a €67 billion circle of money from the troika through Ireland to the international banks and investors… I thank Mr. Schulz for his support and I hope he will be able to bring this simple message back: Ireland did not get a bailout and Ireland is not looking for aid or benevolence. We need our money back in order that we can contribute to the recovery of Europe."[11]

Miriam Lord of The Irish Times made Donnelly her 2012 Politician of the Year, owing to his contributions on the post-2008 Irish banking crisis.[12]

Independent and Social Democrats

Donnelly entered political life being elected as an Independent TD at the 2011 general election. On 15 July 2015, Donnelly launched the Social Democrats, becoming co-leader along with former Labour Party TD Róisín Shortall and former Independent TD Catherine Murphy.[13] Donnelly left the party on 5 September 2016, stating "some partnerships simply don't work".[6] After leaving the Social Democrats, Donnelly spent the next five months as an Independent TD again for Wicklow.

Fianna Fáil

In February 2017, Donnelly announced that he was joining Fianna Fáil.[14] Upon joining, Donnelly said that he believed Fianna Fáil to be "the best team that most closely align with my politics who I believe are taking these challenges very seriously". During a 2017 radio interview, Donnelly was questioned about a previous newspaper column, in which, after paraphrasing an unnamed person about Fianna Fáil's perceived problems and "lack of accountability", Donnelly wrote that he "hate[d] it when the cynics are right".[15] Donnelly initially said that he did not know where the host was quoting from - later stating: "I stand corrected".[15] He was appointed party spokesperson for Brexit.[16] In a Front-Bench reshuffle in March 2018, he was appointed Fianna Fáil spokesperson on health.[17] Donnelly was elected on the 15th count in the Wicklow constituency [18] to the 33rd Dáil in the 2020 general election, although he won less votes than when he stood with the Social Democrats three years prior.[19]

As part of the coalition government of the 33rd Dáil, Donnelly was appointed Minister for Health by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on 27 June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.[4]

Drug laws

In a 2017 interview with Hot Press magazine, Donnelly spoke about smoking cannabis and use of other drugs.[20][21] When asked whether he had taken drugs other than cannabis, Donnelly responded: "I have but that's all the detail I'm going to go into".[20][21]

After being announced as a minister in the 2020 cabinet, Donnelly reportedly stood by his 2017 comments,[20][21] and noted an openness to the liberalisation of some drug laws, stating that if "you're doing something that's not harming anybody else, it's hard to see a legitimate role for the State in prosecuting you for it".[20] A 2020 news article described Donnelly as "broadly supportive" of supervised injection centres.[20]

Personal life

Donnelly lives in Greystones, County Wicklow, with his wife and three sons.[10] He has a black belt in Taekwondo.[20]

References
  1. Leahy, Pat (2 February 2017). "Wicklow TD Stephen Donnelly to join Fianna Fáil, party says". Irish Times.
  2. Sheridan, Kathy (14 February 2011). "No vanity protest from Independent emboldened by arrival of the IMF". Irish Times.
  3. "Stephen Donnelly". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  4. "New coalition Cabinet: who has got what". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. "Stephen Donnelly". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  6. Doyle, Kevin (5 September 2016). "'Some partnerships simply don't work' - Stephen Donnelly quits Social Democrats in major blow for party". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. "A Centenary Celebration: 100 years of the UCD Schools of Civil, Electrical & Electronic, and Mechanical & Materials Engineering". ucd.ie. UCD College of Engineering and Architecture. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  8. "Profile: Stephen Donnelly (SD)". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  9. "Solving society's problems - bringing engineering experience to the Dáil". engineersireland.ie. Institution of Engineers of Ireland. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  10. "About Stephen". stephendonnelly.ie. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  11. "Dáil debates". Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  12. Lord, Miriam (22 December 2012). "My Christmas crackers and festive turkeys". The Irish Times.
  13. O'Connor, Niall (15 July 2015). "New Social Democrats group pledge to abolish water charges and repeal the Eighth Amendment". Irish Independent.
  14. "Stephen Donnelly is joining Fianna Fáil but he hasn't always been the party's biggest fan". Journal. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  15. "Stephen Donnelly gets tongue tied as he denies writing Sunday Independent column". Irish Independent. 2 February 2017.
  16. "I'm joining FF to make a difference". Irish Examiner. 2 February 2017.
  17. Bardon, Sarah (29 March 2018). "Fianna Fáil reshuffle: Dara Calleary appointed deputy leader". Irish Times. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  18. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/election-2020/wicklow/
  19. "Wicklow results: Minister for Health Simon Harris re-elected". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  20. Pownall, Sylvia (5 July 2020). "Health Minister Stephen Donnelly stands by a 2017 interview where he admitted to smoking cannabis: The Fianna Fail TD told Hot Press magazine he had visited a strip club and tried marijuana – and was open to the idea of making it legal".
  21. Condon, Ali (6 July 2020). "Health Minister Donnelly stands by open minded attitude toward cannabis". extra.ie. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
Oireachtas
Preceded by
Joe Behan
(Independent)		 Teachta Dála for Wicklow
2011–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Simon Harris		 Minister for Health
2020–present		 Incumbent
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