John Halligan (politician)

John Halligan (born 18 January 1955) is an Irish former independent politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Waterford constituency from 2011 to 2020.[2] He also served as Minister of State from 2016 to 2020.

John Halligan
Halligan in 2017
Minister of State
2017–2020Business, Enterprise and Innovation
2016–2017Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
2016–2020Education and Skills
Teachta Dála
In office
February 2011 – February 2020
ConstituencyWaterford
Personal details
Born (1955-01-18) 18 January 1955
Waterford, Ireland
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Workers' Party (1999–2007)
Spouse
Elaine Powell
​
(m. 2016)​
[1]
Children3
Alma materWaterford Institute of Technology

He was elected to the Waterford City Council in 1999, for the Workers' Party. At the 2004 local elections, he topped the poll in Waterford No. 3 electoral area. He was an unsuccessful Workers' Party candidate for the Waterford constituency at the 2002 and 2007 general elections.[3] In February 2008, he resigned from the Workers' Party, when the party refused to drop its opposition to service charges, which Halligan supported.[4] In 2009, as an Independent candidate, Halligan again topped the poll in his area.[3] After the 2009 local elections, Halligan entered into a pact with Fine Gael and the Labour Party on Waterford City Council. As a result, he was duly elected Mayor of Waterford, serving from 2009 to 2010.

He was elected as a TD for the Waterford constituency at the 2011 general election, receiving 5,546 first preference votes (10.3%) and was elected on the 11th count.[3] Following his election to the Dáil in February 2011, Sean Reinhardt was co-opted to replace Halligan on Waterford City Council.[5] In March 2011, Halligan joined the Dáil technical group allowing himself more speaking time in Dáil debates.[6] On 15 December 2011, he helped launch a nationwide campaign against a proposed household charge being brought in as part of the 2012 budget.[7]

He joined the Independent Alliance upon its inception in 2015.[8] On 27 February 2016, he was re-elected as a TD for Waterford at the general election, receiving 8,306 first preference votes and was elected on the 8th count. After prolonged talks on government formation, the Independent Alliance supported the nomination of Enda Kenny as Taoiseach on 6 May 2016, allowing Kenny to become the first Leader of Fine Gael to be re-elected to the office of Taoiseach.[9]

On 19 May 2016, Halligan was appointed by the new government a Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills and at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with responsibility for Training and Skills.[10][11][12] On 20 June 2017, after Leo Varadkar succeeded Kenny as Taoiseach, Halligan was appointed by the government as Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills and at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation with responsibility for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development.[13][14][15][16][17]

In November 2017, the Workplace Relations Commission found that he had violated equality legislation by asking a candidate "Do you have children? How old are your children?" during a job interview; the WRC ordered the minister's department to pay €7,500 to the candidate.[18]

He retired from the Dáil at the 2020 general election on 8 May, continuing in office as a junior minister until the formation of a new government on 27 June 2020.

References
  1. Cormac McQuinn (21 January 2017). "Independent minister forges happy new alliance". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  2. "John Halligan". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  3. "John Halligan". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  4. "Workers' Party asks Halligan for his seat". Munster Express. 22 February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  5. "Reinhardt takes City Council seat". Munster Express. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  6. "TDs agree to form technical group". The Irish Times. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  7. "TDs would go to jail over household charge". RTÉ News. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  8. "Feargal Quinn to announce he is to join Independent Alliance". The Irish Times. 29 June 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  9. "Enda Kenny is re-elected as Taoiseach in the Dáil". Newstalk. 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  10. "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – Thursday, 19 May 2016". Houses of the Oireachtas. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  11. Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order 19 (S.I. No. 334 of 2016). Signed on 28 June 2016. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 26 March 2021.
  12. Education and Skills (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 19 (S.I. No. 355 of 2016). Signed on 5 July 2016. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 26 March 2021.
  13. "Appointment of Members of Government and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 20 June 2017". Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  14. Education and Skills (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 333 of 2017). Signed on 18 July 2017. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 March 2021.
  15. Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 3) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 363 of 2017). Signed on 26 July 2017. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 March 2021.
  16. Business, Enterprise and Innovation (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 570 of 2017). Signed on 12 December 2017. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 March 2021.
  17. Education and Skills (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 641 of 2018). Signed on 18 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 20 March 2021.
  18. "John Halligan's interview questions not a 'sacking offence'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
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