Enda Kenny
Encyclopedia
Enda Kenny is an Irish
Fine Gael
politician, and has been the Taoiseach
since 2011. He has led Fine Gael
since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party
.
Kenny has been a Teachta Dála
(TD) for Mayo
since 1975, having succeeded his father Henry Kenny
. He is the longest-serving TD currently in Dáil Éireann, which makes him the incumbent Father of the Dáil
.
Kenny led Fine Gael in the 2011 general election. He subsequently brokered an agreement with the Labour Party
and formed a coalition government on 9 March 2011. He is Fine Gael's first Taoiseach since John Bruton
from 1994 to 1997, and the first Fine Gael leader to win government in an election since Garret FitzGerald
in 1982.
near Castlebar
, County Mayo
in 1951, the third child of five. He was educated locally at St. Patrick's National School in Cornanool and St. Gerald's College
(De La Salle) in Castlebar. Kenny subsequently attended St Patrick's College of Education in Dublin and University College Galway
. He briefly worked as a primary school teacher, and is a Gaeilgeoir.
Kenny has been married to Dubliner Fionnuala O'Kelly since 1992. O'Kelly is first cousin to sitting MEP
Seán Kelly, former President of the Gaelic Athletic Association
(GAA). The Kelly family originally come from the parish of Kilcummin near Killarney
, County Kerry
. Enda and Fionnuala have three children, one daughter and two sons. The couple met in Leinster House
where O'Kelly worked as a press officer for Fianna Fáil
. She later worked with RTÉ
.
Kenny has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
. He is a keen supporter of his native Mayo
Gaelic football
team. He played Gaelic football for his local club, Islandeady, of which he is the current club president. His father, Henry Kenny
, won an All-Ireland
medal with the inter-county team in 1936. His grandfather was a lighthouse keeper
.
in the government, died after a short battle with cancer. The Fine Gael party wanted one of his sons to stand as their candidate at the subsequent by-election, and so Enda Kenny was chosen. He was elected on the first count with 52% of the vote, and at 24 he was the youngest member of the 20th Dáil.
Kenny remained on the backbenches of the Dáil for almost a decade. He was appointed party spokesperson firstly on youth affairs and sport, then western development, however, he failed to build a national profile as he concentrated more on constituency matters. Kenny was left out in the cold when Garret FitzGerald
became Taoiseach
for the first time in 1981 and again in 1982. He was, however, appointed as a member of the Fine Gael delegation at the New Ireland Forum
in 1983 and later served on the British-Irish Parliamentary Association. In 1986 he became a Minister of State
at the Departments of Education and Labour. Fine Gael lost the 1987 general election
resulting in Kenny being on the opposition benches for the next seven years. In spite of this his national profile was raised as he served in a number of positions on the party's front bench, including Education, Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht
and the Islands. He was also the Fine Gael Chief Whip
for a short period.
–Labour Party
government collapsed; however, no general election was called. Instead a Fine Gael
–Labour Party
–Democratic Left
"Rainbow Coalition" came to power. Kenny, as Fine Gael chief whip, was a key member of the team, which negotiated the programme for government with the other two parties prior to the formation of the new government. Under Taoiseach
John Bruton
, Kenny joined the cabinet and was appointed Minister for Tourism and Trade
. During his tenure as minister, Ireland saw a significant growth in tourism business and in its international trade position. As minister he chaired the European Union
Council of Trade Ministers during Ireland's six-month Presidency of the European Council
as well as co-chairing a round of the World Trade Organization
talks in 1996. Among Kenny's other achievements were the rejuvenation of the Saint Patrick's Day
parade in Dublin and the successful negotiations to bring a stage of the 1998 Tour de France
to Ireland. In 1997 the government was defeated at the general election and Kenny returned to the opposition benches.
resigned as leader of Fine Gael following a vote of no confidence in his ability. Kenny was one of a number of candidates who stood in the subsequent leadership election, promising to "electrify the party". In the final ballot it was Michael Noonan
who emerged victorious (it is Fine Gael's custom not to publish ballot results for leadership elections). Noonan subsequently failed to give a spokesperson's assignment to Kenny. This led Kenny to accuse Noonan of sending a "dangerous message".
Fine Gael suffered its worst electoral performance ever, losing 23 seats, a figure larger than expected and with its overall vote down 5%. Kenny himself came close to losing his seat and even went so far as to prepare a concession speech. In the end he won the third seat in the five-seat constituency. Noonan resigned as Fine Gael leader on the night of the result, an action which triggered another leadership election
. Protest meetings were held by members of the party against the speed with which the leadership election had been called and the failure to broaden the franchise to the membership. It was suggested that it was foolish to choose a leader before conducting an electoral post-mortem.
Kenny once again contested the Fine Gael leadership and emerged successful on that occasion. On becoming leader he faced an unenviable task. He not only had to rebuild a demoralised party that had been cut down to 31 seats, but also had to face a very popular Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern
. In the beginning his leadership style was also criticised. The tide began to turn for Fine Gael in 2003 as the Fianna Fáil-led government's popularity took a downturn. Fine Gael's membership increased and the party became a much more united entity. Kenny's first major televised conference speech in November 2003 was well received by the media and, for many, marked a turn in Fine Gael's fortunes as it began to offer more vigorous opposition to Ahern's government.
In September 2002, Kenny was accused of making racist remarks after he used the word "nigger" in a joke relating to Patrice Lumumba
, the assassinated first Prime Minister of Congo
. Kenny wanted his "obscure joke" to be suppressed and specifically asked journalists not to report it, though Enda's "chortling repetition of the inflammatory word" was carried by the Sunday Independent
newspaper. He was subsequently condemned by race campaigners at home, in Britain and further abroad. Matters were made worse when it emerged that several of Lumumba's relatives, including a son and several grandchildren, lived in Tallaght
.
Fine Gael out-performed expectations at the 2004 Local and European
elections, which saw Fine Gael increase it representation from 4 MEPs
of 15 from Ireland, to 5 from 13. This was the first time Fine Gael had ever defeated Fianna Fáil in a national election, as well as the first time Fianna Fáil had lost a national election since it finished second in the Irish general election, September 1927 to Cumann na nGaedheal, Fine Gael's immediate predecessor.
In July 2005, five men
from the north of Kenny's Mayo constituency were jailed over their opposition to the Fianna Fáil-led government's plans for the Corrib gas project. One of the men, Philip McGrath, worked for Kenny as an election agent for Rossport
during general elections. Unlike his fellow Mayo Fine Gael TD, Michael Ring
, Kenny was cautious about backing the men's stance (Ring would later be forced to adopt the same policy). The Shell to Sea
campaign that was founded to help release the men and get the government to change its mind shut down work on the project for fifteen months. When Gardaí
were brought in to remove protesters with tactics that saw many hospitalised, Kenny said: "The law must be obeyed."
In November 2005, Kenny called for the abolition of compulsory Irish for the Leaving Certificate
examinations. This was opposed by all the major Irish language
organisations.
In March 2006 Kenny was elected Vice-President of the European People's Party
(EPP), the largest European political group to which Fine Gael is affiliated. In his speech to the EPP he stated that Fine Gael would be in Government within two years.
During the first half of 2006 Kenny went aggressively after a more populist line on the cost of immigration, street crime, paedophilia and homeowner's rights. A graphic description of a mugging he had experienced was given to the Dáil in the context of a crime discussion, only for it to be revealed a day later that the incident had occurred in Kenya not Ireland.
Responding to the 2008–2011 Irish banking crisis in County Cork
on 15 February 2009, Kenny asked the entire board of the Central Bank of Ireland's Financial Regulation section to resign.
in order to offer the electorate an alternative coalition government at the 2007 general election held on 24 May. The so-called 'Mullingar Accord' was agreed in September 2004 following the European and Local elections that year. The Green Party
also signalled via the media to be in favour of membership of such a coalition government after the election. They refused to commit to an agreement prior to polling day however.
Kenny's leadership has attempted to define Fine Gael as a party of the progressive centre. Its policy initiatives have concentrated on value for money, consumer rights, civil partnerships, reform of public spending, reward and enterprise and preventative health care policy. The party has sought to retake its former mantle as the law-and-order party committed to defending the institutions of the state. At the Fine Gael Ardfheis in March 2007 Kenny outlined his platform for the forthcoming general election entitled the 'Contract for a Better Ireland.' The main aspects of this 'contract' included: 2,300 more hospital beds, 2,000 more Gardaí
, tougher jail sentences and tougher bail for criminals, free health insurance for all children under 16 and lower income tax.
Bertie Ahern was perceived by many to have comfortably beaten Kenny in the pre-election Leaders' debate.
When the votes were counted it emerged that Fine Gael had made large gains, increasing its number of seats by twenty to give a total of 51 seats in the new Dáil. However, Labour and the Greens failed to make gains, leaving Kenny's "Alliance for Change" short of a majority. Despite predictions to the contrary, the Fianna Fáil vote recovered sufficiently to bring it to 78 seats, and a third term in government for Ahern.
Kenny is currently the longest-serving TD in Dáil Éireann still in office, and is the incumbent Father of the Dáil
.
criticised Kenny in The Irish Times
for not having a grasp of the issues, notably of economic issues.
published in The Irish Times
on 10 June 2010 triggered a challenge to Kenny's leadership of the party. The Ipsos MRBI poll indicated that the Labour Party
had become the most popular political party in the country for the first time ever, and also showed a drop in backing for Fianna Fáil
and Fine Gael, and for their leaders. It showed a five-point drop in Fianna Fáil support since January 2010, leaving that party on 17%, Fine Gael down four points to 28%, and Labour up eight points to 32%. Satisfaction with Kenny's leadership dropped 7% to 24%.
Following the failure of the party's deputy leader Richard Bruton
to support him, he was dismissed by Kenny on 14 June. He also tabled a motion of confidence in his leadership, to be held on 17 June.
On the following day it was revealed that nine members of the Fine Gael frontbench did not have confidence in Kenny to lead their party - composed of Simon Coveney
, Denis Naughten
, Olwyn Enright
, Olivia Mitchell
, Fergus O'Dowd
, Michael Creed
, Billy Timmins
, Leo Varadkar
and Brian Hayes
. Denis Naughten said frontbench members did not have Kenny's support and would like him to withdraw his motion of confidence and stand down in the interest of the party.
The motion of confidence in Kenny was passed. He announced a major reshuffle of his party's front bench on 1 July 2010, re-appointing Bruton, Coveney, O'Dowd and Varadkar.
There was several leaders debates on television during the campaign. There was uniquely three debates on stations TV3, RTÉ and TG4 between Enda Kenny, Michaél Martin and Eamon Gilmore and a five way leaders' debate on RTÉ also including Gerry Adams and John Gormley along with the other participants from the three way debates.
Kenny however refused to participate in the TV3, three-way leaders' debate proposed by TV3, stating his unhappiness that Vincent Browne
would chair the debate. Browne is a well know critic of Fine Gael and Kenny. In 1982 Browne appeared on 'The Late Late Show' poured scorn on Kenny, claiming he was "purporting" to be a TD.
In October 2010 Browne was forced to make a public apology to Kenny after jokingly asking whether Fine Gael was requesting that he go into a dark room with a gun and bottle of whiskey. This was in reference to Fine Gael's position in the polls, where they were in second place to Labour, and a previous leadership challenge to Kenny by Richard Bruton
. Kenny refused to appear on the leaders debate despite an offer by Browne to be replaced by a different moderator for the debate if Kenny would appear.
Kenny participated in a three party leader debate on RTÉ, moderated by Miriam O'Callaghan
and also in a five way debate, which was a new departure involving all party leaders of the outgoing Dáil, including Kenny, moderated by Pat Kenny
He participated in a three-way debate in the Irish language with Micheál Martin and Eamon Gilmore on TG4.
On 14 February 2011, Kenny met German Chancellor Angela Merkel
to discuss the Irish economy. Kenny and Merkel have close political ties because Merkel's CDU party
and Fine Gael are both members of the centre-right
European People's Party
(EPP) and seating at EPP meetings is arranged by alphabetical order of surname
. The close relationship between these two leaders is illustrated further by the fact that Angela Merkel also backed Enda Kenny and Fine Gael during the 2007 election.
Opinion polls of 23 February 2011 sponsored by Paddy Power
, the Irish Independent
, and The Irish Times
suggested that Kenny would lead Fine Gael to its largest total of seats to date in the 31st Dail, and that he would be elected Taoiseach.
In the election, Kenny led Fine Gael to a decisive victory. The party won 76 seats, the most in its 78-year history, and will be the largest party in the Dáil for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state, its representation being reduced by 75%. Kenny himself topped the poll in his Mayo constituency and uniquely three others from Fine Gael were elected alongside Kenny. At a victory party in Dublin, Kenny declared Fine Gael had "a massive endorsement" to govern, and the election marked "a transformative moment in Ireland's history." Later, he told RTE
that he fully expects to become Taoiseach after what he called "a democratic revolution at the ballot box." While there was some talk that Fine Gael would govern alone as a minority government, senior Fine Gael leaders indicated as soon as the election result was beyond doubt that they would likely enter a coalition government with Labour. Late on the night of 5 March, Fine Gael and Labour formally agreed to form a coalition government with Kenny as Taoiseach and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore
as Tánaiste
. Labour will have four other seats in cabinet.
Kenny said that his first priority upon taking office will be to renegotiate the bailout, calling the original deal "a bad deal for Ireland and a bad deal for Europe."
convened for the first time on 9 March 2011 and elected Kenny as Taoiseach by a vote of 117–27. Kenny received his seal of office from President
Mary McAleese
. He also announced ministerial appointees to his Government on 9 March 2011.
At just under 59 years and 11 months on accession, Kenny is the second-oldest person to assume this office, the oldest being Seán Lemass
.
On 9 March 2011, Kenny appointed 15 junior Ministries. He also appointed a Minister for political reform, and sent a request to the OPW as to how he could address ministerial transport. On March 15 it was announced that only the current President, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Justice were to have Garda drivers. All other Ministers would have to make use of their own transport with a mileage allowance and a commercial chauffeur as an expense. There was no announcement as to the continuing engagement of three government jets. The media reported that this would reduce the ministerial motor vehicle transport bill to 7 million euro annually which is more than the combined annual tax contributions of 16,000 people on minimum wage.
According to a report in the Sunday Mirror
, Kenny will be the first Taoiseach to use the Steward's Lodge at Farmleigh
as his official residence.
leaders in Brussels. During that summit he engaged in a heated confrontation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy
(which Kenny termed "a Gallic spat") over Ireland's comparatively low 12.5% corporate tax rate, which EU leaders have frequently posited as a condition of more favorable terms for the Irish bailout. Kenny held firm on his refusal to alter the corporate tax, which he reiterated in his first Leaders' Questions the following week — also declaring his government's intention to withhold further state funds from Dublin banks until the EU agreed to new terms that forced banks' senior bondholders to share in the losses.
However, less than three weeks later on 31 March, the Central Bank of Ireland published the results of its "stress tests" on Ireland's four surviving banks (Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, EBS, and Irish Life & Permanent) — indicating that the banks needed to raise an additional €24 billion to remain solvent. Despite his earlier promise, the government announced the same day that the state would supply the necessary funds to keep the banks afloat, with Kenny stating that seeking the money from bondholders would be neither "reasonable or logical." Kenny was heavily criticised for his government's action, with the Irish Independent
noting that "this is the fifth time Irish people have been told over the past couple of years it would be the last payout they would have to endure."
Nevertheless, the first national opinion poll since Kenny took office, published on 10 April, showed that public support for Kenny's Fine Gael party had increased since the election from 36% to 39%, although a plurality also indicated deep dissatisfaction with his rescue of the banks.
On 21 July 2011, Kenny announced that an agreement had been reached by Eurozone
leaders to reduce Ireland's interest rate by 2% and extend the repayment period.
was published, detailing the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by 19 priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne
. Among the report's findings were the revelation that the vast majority of allegations made in the diocese were not reported to the Garda, as required by the Church's 1996 guidelines; that the Bishop of the Diocese, John Magee
, and others had withheld full cooperation with the Government's investigation and had deliberately misrepresented his own response to the allegations; and that the Vatican
itself had both refused to cooperate in the investigation and counseled the Diocese that the 1996 guidelines were not binding.
On 20 July, Kenny condemned the Vatican for its role in the scandal, stating that the Church's role in obstructing the investigation was a serious infringement upon the sovereignty of Ireland and that the scandal revealed "the dysfunction, disconnection and elitism that dominates the culture of the Vatican to this day." He added that "the historic relationship between church and state in Ireland could not be the same again."
Kenny's attack on the Vatican was unprecedented by a high-level official in Ireland, whose formal relationship with the Catholic Church had long been viewed as intimate and inextricable. The speech was widely regarded as extraordinary, with Britain's Daily Mail
newspaper commenting that "The astonishing attack was the first time that Ireland's Parliament has publicly castigated the Vatican instead of local church leaders during the country's 17 years of paedophile-priest scandals." The Guardian
remarked that " the political classes have...lost their fear, namely of the once almighty Roman Catholic church."
issued its response to Mr Kenny's speech noting that "the accusation that the Holy See attempted “to frustrate an Inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago”, which Mr Kenny made no attempt to substantiate, is unfounded. Indeed, when asked, a Government spokesperson clarified that Mr Kenny was not referring to any specific incident". The response added that "Those Reports [.........] contain no evidence to suggest that the Holy See meddled in the internal affairs of the Irish State or, for that matter, was involved in the day-to-day management of Irish dioceses or religious congregations with respect to sexual abuse issues".
On the quoting of then Cardinal Ratzinger, the response notes "The quotation in question is taken from the Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian, otherwise known as Donum Veritatis (The Gift of the Truth), published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 24 May 1990, and signed by the then Prefect and Secretary of the Congregation. It is not a private text of the then Cardinal Ratzinger but an official document of the Congregation. This document is concerned with the theologian’s service to the Church community, a service which can also be of help to society at large, and not with the manner in which the Church should behave within a democratic society nor with issues of child protection, as Mr Kenny’s use of the quotation would seem to imply"
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
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...
politician, and has been the Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
since 2011. He has led 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...
since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
.
Kenny has been 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 Mayo
Mayo (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Mayo is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects five deputies...
since 1975, having succeeded his father Henry Kenny
Henry Kenny
Henry Kenny was an Irish Fine Gael politician from County Mayo and a Gaelic footballer who won an All-Ireland medal with the Mayo inter-county team in 1936...
. He is the longest-serving TD currently in Dáil Éireann, which makes him the incumbent Father of the Dáil
Father of the Dáil
In the Republic of Ireland, the term Father of the Dáil is an unofficial title applied to the current member of Dáil Éireann with the longest unbroken period of service, regardless of their position...
.
Kenny led Fine Gael in the 2011 general election. He subsequently brokered an agreement with the 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 formed a coalition government on 9 March 2011. He is Fine Gael's first Taoiseach since John Bruton
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...
from 1994 to 1997, and the first Fine Gael leader to win government in an election since Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
in 1982.
Early and private life
Enda Kenny was born in the village of IslandeadyIslandeady
Islandeady is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, about halfway between the towns of Castlebar and Westport.The parish of Islandeady meets Castlebar to the east, Westport and Newport to the west, and Aughagower and Killawalla to the south. There is a view of Croagh Patrick to the west and Nephin to...
near Castlebar
Castlebar
Castlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
in 1951, the third child of five. He was educated locally at St. Patrick's National School in Cornanool and St. Gerald's College
St. Gerald's College
St. Gerald's College is an all-boys secondary school in Castlebar, County Mayo. As of January 2009, there are about 40 teachers and 600 students attending the school. The original school was opened in 1909. The current school was opened in 1971. In 2009 the school celebrated its centenary.-External...
(De La Salle) in Castlebar. Kenny subsequently attended St Patrick's College of Education in Dublin and University College Galway
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
. He briefly worked as a primary school teacher, and is a Gaeilgeoir.
Kenny has been married to Dubliner Fionnuala O'Kelly since 1992. O'Kelly is first cousin to sitting MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
Seán Kelly, former President of the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
(GAA). The Kelly family originally come from the parish of Kilcummin near Killarney
Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...
, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. Enda and Fionnuala have three children, one daughter and two sons. The couple met in Leinster House
Leinster House
Leinster House is the name of the building housing the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland.Leinster House was originally the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its...
where O'Kelly worked as a press officer for Fianna Fáil
Fianna 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...
. She later worked with RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
.
Kenny has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
. He is a keen supporter of his native Mayo
Mayo GAA
The Mayo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Mayo GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Mayo and the Mayo inter-county teams.-History:...
Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
team. He played Gaelic football for his local club, Islandeady, of which he is the current club president. His father, Henry Kenny
Henry Kenny
Henry Kenny was an Irish Fine Gael politician from County Mayo and a Gaelic footballer who won an All-Ireland medal with the Mayo inter-county team in 1936...
, won an All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
medal with the inter-county team in 1936. His grandfather was a lighthouse keeper
Lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
.
Early political career
From an early age Kenny was exposed to politics as his father, Henry Kenny, became a Fine Gael TD in 1954. In the early 1970s he became directly involved in politics when he started helping his father with constituency clinics. In 1975 Henry Kenny, who was at this stage a Parliamentary SecretaryMinister 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....
in the government, died after a short battle with cancer. The Fine Gael party wanted one of his sons to stand as their candidate at the subsequent by-election, and so Enda Kenny was chosen. He was elected on the first count with 52% of the vote, and at 24 he was the youngest member of the 20th Dáil.
Kenny remained on the backbenches of the Dáil for almost a decade. He was appointed party spokesperson firstly on youth affairs and sport, then western development, however, he failed to build a national profile as he concentrated more on constituency matters. Kenny was left out in the cold when Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
became Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
for the first time in 1981 and again in 1982. He was, however, appointed as a member of the Fine Gael delegation at the New Ireland Forum
New Ireland Forum
The New Ireland Forum was a forum in 1983–84 at which Irish nationalist political parties discussed potential political developments that might alleviate the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Forum was established by Garret FitzGerald, then Taoiseach, under the influence of John Hume. The Forum was...
in 1983 and later served on the British-Irish Parliamentary Association. In 1986 he became a Minister of State
Minister 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 Departments of Education and Labour. Fine Gael lost the 1987 general election
Irish general election, 1987
The Irish general election of 1987 was held on 17 February 1987, four weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 20 January. The newly-elected 166 members of the 25th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 10 March when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed.The general election took place in...
resulting in Kenny being on the opposition benches for the next seven years. In spite of this his national profile was raised as he served in a number of positions on the party's front bench, including Education, Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
and the Islands. He was also the Fine Gael Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
for a short period.
Government minister
In late 1994 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...
government collapsed; however, no general election was called. Instead a 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...
–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" came to power. Kenny, as Fine Gael chief whip, was a key member of the team, which negotiated the programme for government with the other two parties prior to the formation of the new government. Under Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
John Bruton
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...
, Kenny joined the cabinet and was appointed Minister for Tourism and Trade
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism (Ireland)
The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is the senior minister at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in the Government of Ireland.The current minister is Jimmy Deenihan, TD. He is assisted by:...
. During his tenure as minister, Ireland saw a significant growth in tourism business and in its international trade position. As minister he chaired 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...
Council of Trade Ministers during Ireland's six-month Presidency of the European Council
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
as well as co-chairing a round of the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
talks in 1996. Among Kenny's other achievements were the rejuvenation of the Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
parade in Dublin and the successful negotiations to bring a stage of the 1998 Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
to Ireland. In 1997 the government was defeated at the general election and Kenny returned to the opposition benches.
2001 Fine Gael leadership election
In 2001 John BrutonJohn Bruton
John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...
resigned as leader of Fine Gael following a vote of no confidence in his ability. Kenny was one of a number of candidates who stood in the subsequent leadership election, promising to "electrify the party". In the final ballot it was 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....
who emerged victorious (it is Fine Gael's custom not to publish ballot results for leadership elections). Noonan subsequently failed to give a spokesperson's assignment to Kenny. This led Kenny to accuse Noonan of sending a "dangerous message".
Fine Gael leader
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...
Fine Gael suffered its worst electoral performance ever, losing 23 seats, a figure larger than expected and with its overall vote down 5%. Kenny himself came close to losing his seat and even went so far as to prepare a concession speech. In the end he won the third seat in the five-seat constituency. Noonan resigned as Fine Gael leader on the night of the result, an action which triggered another leadership election
Fine Gael leadership election, 2002
The 2002 Fine Gael leadership election began in May 2002, when Michael Noonan resigned as party leader due to the party's poor performance in the 2002 general election. Noonan had only been party leader for little over fifteen months. His successor was elected by the members of the Fine Gael...
. Protest meetings were held by members of the party against the speed with which the leadership election had been called and the failure to broaden the franchise to the membership. It was suggested that it was foolish to choose a leader before conducting an electoral post-mortem.
Kenny once again contested the Fine Gael leadership and emerged successful on that occasion. On becoming leader he faced an unenviable task. He not only had to rebuild a demoralised party that had been cut down to 31 seats, but also had to face a very popular Taoiseach, 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....
. In the beginning his leadership style was also criticised. The tide began to turn for Fine Gael in 2003 as the Fianna Fáil-led government's popularity took a downturn. Fine Gael's membership increased and the party became a much more united entity. Kenny's first major televised conference speech in November 2003 was well received by the media and, for many, marked a turn in Fine Gael's fortunes as it began to offer more vigorous opposition to Ahern's government.
In September 2002, Kenny was accused of making racist remarks after he used the word "nigger" in a joke relating to Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...
, the assassinated first Prime Minister of Congo
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
. Kenny wanted his "obscure joke" to be suppressed and specifically asked journalists not to report it, though Enda's "chortling repetition of the inflammatory word" was carried by the Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
newspaper. He was subsequently condemned by race campaigners at home, in Britain and further abroad. Matters were made worse when it emerged that several of Lumumba's relatives, including a son and several grandchildren, lived in Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
.
Fine Gael out-performed expectations at the 2004 Local and European
European Parliament election, 2004 (Ireland)
The 2004 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2004 European Parliament election. The voting was held on Friday, 11 June 2004. The election coincided with the 2004 local elections...
elections, which saw Fine Gael increase it representation from 4 MEPs
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
of 15 from Ireland, to 5 from 13. This was the first time Fine Gael had ever defeated Fianna Fáil in a national election, as well as the first time Fianna Fáil had lost a national election since it finished second in the Irish general election, September 1927 to Cumann na nGaedheal, Fine Gael's immediate predecessor.
In July 2005, five men
Rossport Five
The Rossport Five are James Brendan Philbin, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Micheál Ó Seighin. All five are from Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland and were jailed on 29 June 2005 by Justice Finnegan, President of the High Court of the Republic of Ireland, for...
from the north of Kenny's Mayo constituency were jailed over their opposition to the Fianna Fáil-led government's plans for the Corrib gas project. One of the men, Philip McGrath, worked for Kenny as an election agent for Rossport
Rossport
Ros Dumhach is a Gaeltacht village and townland in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is within the barony of Erris and parish of Kilcommon...
during general elections. Unlike his fellow Mayo Fine Gael TD, Michael Ring
Michael Ring
Michael Ring is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Mayo constituency since June 1994, and is the current Minister of State for Tourism and Sport....
, Kenny was cautious about backing the men's stance (Ring would later be forced to adopt the same policy). The Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea is a campaign based in Cill Chomáin parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland which opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline through the parish and the ongoing construction by Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Vermilion Energy Trust of a refinery at Bellanaboy intended to...
campaign that was founded to help release the men and get the government to change its mind shut down work on the project for fifteen months. When Gardaí
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 :...
were brought in to remove protesters with tactics that saw many hospitalised, Kenny said: "The law must be obeyed."
In November 2005, Kenny called for the abolition of compulsory Irish for the Leaving Certificate
Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...
examinations. This was opposed by all the major Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
organisations.
In March 2006 Kenny was elected Vice-President of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP), the largest European political group to which Fine Gael is affiliated. In his speech to the EPP he stated that Fine Gael would be in Government within two years.
During the first half of 2006 Kenny went aggressively after a more populist line on the cost of immigration, street crime, paedophilia and homeowner's rights. A graphic description of a mugging he had experienced was given to the Dáil in the context of a crime discussion, only for it to be revealed a day later that the incident had occurred in Kenya not Ireland.
Responding to the 2008–2011 Irish banking crisis in 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...
on 15 February 2009, Kenny asked the entire board of the Central Bank of Ireland's Financial Regulation section to resign.
2007 general election
Under Kenny the Fine Gael Party agreed to enter a pre-election pact with the Labour PartyLabour 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...
in order to offer the electorate an alternative coalition government at the 2007 general election held on 24 May. The so-called 'Mullingar Accord' was agreed in September 2004 following the European and Local elections that year. 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...
also signalled via the media to be in favour of membership of such a coalition government after the election. They refused to commit to an agreement prior to polling day however.
Kenny's leadership has attempted to define Fine Gael as a party of the progressive centre. Its policy initiatives have concentrated on value for money, consumer rights, civil partnerships, reform of public spending, reward and enterprise and preventative health care policy. The party has sought to retake its former mantle as the law-and-order party committed to defending the institutions of the state. At the Fine Gael Ardfheis in March 2007 Kenny outlined his platform for the forthcoming general election entitled the 'Contract for a Better Ireland.' The main aspects of this 'contract' included: 2,300 more hospital beds, 2,000 more Gardaí
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 :...
, tougher jail sentences and tougher bail for criminals, free health insurance for all children under 16 and lower income tax.
Bertie Ahern was perceived by many to have comfortably beaten Kenny in the pre-election Leaders' debate.
When the votes were counted it emerged that Fine Gael had made large gains, increasing its number of seats by twenty to give a total of 51 seats in the new Dáil. However, Labour and the Greens failed to make gains, leaving Kenny's "Alliance for Change" short of a majority. Despite predictions to the contrary, the Fianna Fáil vote recovered sufficiently to bring it to 78 seats, and a third term in government for Ahern.
Kenny is currently the longest-serving TD in Dáil Éireann still in office, and is the incumbent Father of the Dáil
Father of the Dáil
In the Republic of Ireland, the term Father of the Dáil is an unofficial title applied to the current member of Dáil Éireann with the longest unbroken period of service, regardless of their position...
.
Media commentary
In December 2008, Vincent BrowneVincent Browne
Vincent Browne is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post and a part time barrister....
criticised Kenny in The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
for not having a grasp of the issues, notably of economic issues.
2010 leadership challenge
An opinion pollOpinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
published in The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
on 10 June 2010 triggered a challenge to Kenny's leadership of the party. The Ipsos MRBI poll indicated that the 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...
had become the most popular political party in the country for the first time ever, and also showed a drop in backing for Fianna Fáil
Fianna 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...
and Fine Gael, and for their leaders. It showed a five-point drop in Fianna Fáil support since January 2010, leaving that party on 17%, Fine Gael down four points to 28%, and Labour up eight points to 32%. Satisfaction with Kenny's leadership dropped 7% to 24%.
Following the failure of the party's deputy leader Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton is an Irish Fine Gael politician and has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North Central constituency since 1982. He was appointed as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on 9 March 2011...
to support him, he was dismissed by Kenny on 14 June. He also tabled a motion of confidence in his leadership, to be held on 17 June.
On the following day it was revealed that nine members of the Fine Gael frontbench did not have confidence in Kenny to lead their party - composed of Simon Coveney
Simon Coveney
Simon Coveney is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as a Teachta Dála for Cork South Central since 1998. In March 2011 he became Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Enda Kenny's coalition government....
, Denis Naughten
Denis Naughten
Denis Naughten is an Irish politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Roscommon–South Leitrim constituency. He sits as an independent TD, having lost the Fine Gael parliamentary party whip in July 2011.-Education:...
, Olwyn Enright
Olwyn Enright
Olwyn Enright is a former Irish Fine Gael politician. She served as a Teachta Dála for the Laois–Offaly constituency, from 2002 to 2011.-Early life and education:...
, Olivia Mitchell
Olivia Mitchell
Olivia Mitchell is an Irish Fine Gael politician. She has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency since 1997....
, Fergus O'Dowd
Fergus O'Dowd
Fergus O'Dowd is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Louth constituency, and the Minister of State for the NewEra Project....
, Michael Creed
Michael Creed
Michael Creed is an Irish Fine Gael politician and has been a Teachta Dála for the Cork North West constituency since 2007....
, Billy Timmins
Billy Timmins
Billy Timmins is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency.Timmins was born in Baltinglass, County Wicklow. He was educated at Patrician College, Ballyfin, County Laois; and University College Galway where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in...
, Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency since June 2007. He is currently the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, being appointed on 9 March 2011....
and Brian Hayes
Brian Hayes (politician)
Brian Hayes is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South West constituency and also the Minister of State at the Department of Finance.-Early life:...
. Denis Naughten said frontbench members did not have Kenny's support and would like him to withdraw his motion of confidence and stand down in the interest of the party.
The motion of confidence in Kenny was passed. He announced a major reshuffle of his party's front bench on 1 July 2010, re-appointing Bruton, Coveney, O'Dowd and Varadkar.
2011 general election
At the start of the 2011 election Kenny said Fine Gael recognised the importance of “the giving of hope and confidence to people through the taxation system”, when speaking to reporters outside party election headquarters in Dublin. “The Fine Gael party in this election is the only party that is categorically saying that there will not be any increase in income tax over our period in government,” he said. “There will be no increase in income tax.” He said the country needed strong government and not an administration that depended on the support of Independents. “I think that this is a time for courageous and strong government. It is not a time for government that might self-combust or that would be dependent on the whim of any mercenary Independents. This is a judgment call for the people.”There was several leaders debates on television during the campaign. There was uniquely three debates on stations TV3, RTÉ and TG4 between Enda Kenny, Michaél Martin and Eamon Gilmore and a five way leaders' debate on RTÉ also including Gerry Adams and John Gormley along with the other participants from the three way debates.
Kenny however refused to participate in the TV3, three-way leaders' debate proposed by TV3, stating his unhappiness that Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post and a part time barrister....
would chair the debate. Browne is a well know critic of Fine Gael and Kenny. In 1982 Browne appeared on 'The Late Late Show' poured scorn on Kenny, claiming he was "purporting" to be a TD.
In October 2010 Browne was forced to make a public apology to Kenny after jokingly asking whether Fine Gael was requesting that he go into a dark room with a gun and bottle of whiskey. This was in reference to Fine Gael's position in the polls, where they were in second place to Labour, and a previous leadership challenge to Kenny by Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton is an Irish Fine Gael politician and has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North Central constituency since 1982. He was appointed as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on 9 March 2011...
. Kenny refused to appear on the leaders debate despite an offer by Browne to be replaced by a different moderator for the debate if Kenny would appear.
Kenny participated in a three party leader debate on RTÉ, moderated by Miriam O'Callaghan
and also in a five way debate, which was a new departure involving all party leaders of the outgoing Dáil, including Kenny, moderated by Pat Kenny
He participated in a three-way debate in the Irish language with Micheál Martin and Eamon Gilmore on TG4.
On 14 February 2011, Kenny met German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
to discuss the Irish economy. Kenny and Merkel have close political ties because Merkel's CDU party
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
and Fine Gael are both members of the centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP) and seating at EPP meetings is arranged by alphabetical order of surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
. The close relationship between these two leaders is illustrated further by the fact that Angela Merkel also backed Enda Kenny and Fine Gael during the 2007 election.
Opinion polls of 23 February 2011 sponsored by Paddy Power
Paddy Power
Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online it offers sports betting, online poker, online bingo, online casino games and spread betting...
, 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:...
, and The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
suggested that Kenny would lead Fine Gael to its largest total of seats to date in the 31st Dail, and that he would be elected Taoiseach.
In the election, Kenny led Fine Gael to a decisive victory. The party won 76 seats, the most in its 78-year history, and will be the largest party in the Dáil for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state, its representation being reduced by 75%. Kenny himself topped the poll in his Mayo constituency and uniquely three others from Fine Gael were elected alongside Kenny. At a victory party in Dublin, Kenny declared Fine Gael had "a massive endorsement" to govern, and the election marked "a transformative moment in Ireland's history." Later, he told RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
that he fully expects to become Taoiseach after what he called "a democratic revolution at the ballot box." While there was some talk that Fine Gael would govern alone as a minority government, senior Fine Gael leaders indicated as soon as the election result was beyond doubt that they would likely enter a coalition government with Labour. Late on the night of 5 March, Fine Gael and Labour formally agreed to form a coalition government with Kenny as Taoiseach and Labour leader 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...
as 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 :...
. Labour will have four other seats in cabinet.
Kenny said that his first priority upon taking office will be to renegotiate the bailout, calling the original deal "a bad deal for Ireland and a bad deal for Europe."
Taoiseach 2011–present
The members of the 31st DáilMembers of the 31st Dáil
This is a list of the members who were elected to the 31st Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas of Ireland. These TDs were elected at the 2011 general election on 25 February 2011 and met at midday on 9 March 2011...
convened for the first time on 9 March 2011 and elected Kenny as Taoiseach by a vote of 117–27. Kenny received his seal of office from President
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
. He also announced ministerial appointees to his Government on 9 March 2011.
At just under 59 years and 11 months on accession, Kenny is the second-oldest person to assume this office, the oldest being Seán Lemass
Seán Lemass
Seán Francis Lemass was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966....
.
On 9 March 2011, Kenny appointed 15 junior Ministries. He also appointed a Minister for political reform, and sent a request to the OPW as to how he could address ministerial transport. On March 15 it was announced that only the current President, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Justice were to have Garda drivers. All other Ministers would have to make use of their own transport with a mileage allowance and a commercial chauffeur as an expense. There was no announcement as to the continuing engagement of three government jets. The media reported that this would reduce the ministerial motor vehicle transport bill to 7 million euro annually which is more than the combined annual tax contributions of 16,000 people on minimum wage.
According to a report in the Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
, Kenny will be the first Taoiseach to use the Steward's Lodge at Farmleigh
Farmleigh
Farmleigh is the official Irish State guest house. It was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness family. It is situated on an elevated position above the River Liffey to the north-west of the Phoenix Park...
as his official residence.
Government pay cuts
In one of his first acts in the top office, Kenny slashed his own pay by €14,000 (a reduction of 7% which leaves his weekly net income at over €2,500). The new government also decided to cut the pay of senior ministers. The Taoiseach's pay is to be cut from €214,187 to €200,000. Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore's pay is cut from €197,486 to €184,405. Ministers' pay has been reduced to €169,275 (from €181,283), while pay for Ministers of State is cut from €139,266 to €130,042. In another cost-cutting measure, Kenny asked the Garda, the Departments of Justice and Transport, as well as the Office of Public Works, to come up with a plan to reduce the amount spent on transporting ministers and their teams.Financial and banking policy
On 11 March, his third day as Taoiseach, Kenny attended his first summit of European UnionEuropean 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...
leaders in Brussels. During that summit he engaged in a heated confrontation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
(which Kenny termed "a Gallic spat") over Ireland's comparatively low 12.5% corporate tax rate, which EU leaders have frequently posited as a condition of more favorable terms for the Irish bailout. Kenny held firm on his refusal to alter the corporate tax, which he reiterated in his first Leaders' Questions the following week — also declaring his government's intention to withhold further state funds from Dublin banks until the EU agreed to new terms that forced banks' senior bondholders to share in the losses.
However, less than three weeks later on 31 March, the Central Bank of Ireland published the results of its "stress tests" on Ireland's four surviving banks (Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, EBS, and Irish Life & Permanent) — indicating that the banks needed to raise an additional €24 billion to remain solvent. Despite his earlier promise, the government announced the same day that the state would supply the necessary funds to keep the banks afloat, with Kenny stating that seeking the money from bondholders would be neither "reasonable or logical." Kenny was heavily criticised for his government's action, with 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:...
noting that "this is the fifth time Irish people have been told over the past couple of years it would be the last payout they would have to endure."
Nevertheless, the first national opinion poll since Kenny took office, published on 10 April, showed that public support for Kenny's Fine Gael party had increased since the election from 36% to 39%, although a plurality also indicated deep dissatisfaction with his rescue of the banks.
On 21 July 2011, Kenny announced that an agreement had been reached by 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...
leaders to reduce Ireland's interest rate by 2% and extend the repayment period.
Pension Levy controversy
On 9 May, Kenny's government announced a new job creation program, along with plan to finance it via a 0.6% tax levy on private pension savings. Public pension funds, however, would remain untouched. The pension levy caused an immediate and intense outcry, leaving Kenny to defend the initiative as "a modest proposal" and refuting charges that the government would next tax personal savings. However, the controversy surrounding the levy intensified on 12 May, when Kenny admitted that the holders of Approved Retirement Funds — most of whom were among the highest income earners in Ireland — would not be included in the levy.Political reforms
On 3 May 2011, Kenny's government approved a set of political reforms that adhered to promises Kenny had made in the 2011 election. Among the approved reforms were a binding Constituency Commission scheduled for June 2011, with the specific purpose of reducing the number of TDs by up to 20; an act to establish a six-month time limit for holding by-elections to the Dáil; a €750,000 spending limit in the 2011 Irish presidential election; Legislation to ban corporate donations, to be enacted by summer 2011; establishment of a Constitutional Convention in 2011, which will include discussion of the Seanad; and a referendum to abolish the Seanad, to be held in the second half of 2012. The promise to cut up to 20 TDs caused some controversy and skepticism due to the Constitutional requirement that there be no less than one TD for every 30,000 people, which would necessitate a minimum of 150 TDs — meaning that the current number of 166 TDs could be reduced by 16 at most.Vatican reprimand
On 13 July 2011 the Cloyne ReportSexual abuse scandal in Cloyne diocese
The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne is officially elaborated as the "Commission of Investigation, Dublin Archdiocese, Catholic Diocese of Cloyne". It has examined how allegations of sexual abuse of children in the diocese were dealt with by the church and state. The...
was published, detailing the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by 19 priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne
The Diocese of Cloyne is a Roman Catholic diocese in southern Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The diocese is in the secular province of the same name - Munster...
. Among the report's findings were the revelation that the vast majority of allegations made in the diocese were not reported to the Garda, as required by the Church's 1996 guidelines; that the Bishop of the Diocese, John Magee
John Magee (bishop)
John Magee, SPS was a Roman Catholic bishop in Ireland. He resigned his episcopal seat on 24 March 2010.-Early life:...
, and others had withheld full cooperation with the Government's investigation and had deliberately misrepresented his own response to the allegations; and that the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
itself had both refused to cooperate in the investigation and counseled the Diocese that the 1996 guidelines were not binding.
On 20 July, Kenny condemned the Vatican for its role in the scandal, stating that the Church's role in obstructing the investigation was a serious infringement upon the sovereignty of Ireland and that the scandal revealed "the dysfunction, disconnection and elitism that dominates the culture of the Vatican to this day." He added that "the historic relationship between church and state in Ireland could not be the same again."
Kenny's attack on the Vatican was unprecedented by a high-level official in Ireland, whose formal relationship with the Catholic Church had long been viewed as intimate and inextricable. The speech was widely regarded as extraordinary, with Britain's Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
newspaper commenting that "The astonishing attack was the first time that Ireland's Parliament has publicly castigated the Vatican instead of local church leaders during the country's 17 years of paedophile-priest scandals." The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
remarked that " the political classes have...lost their fear, namely of the once almighty Roman Catholic church."
Vatican response
On 3 September the Holy SeeHoly See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
issued its response to Mr Kenny's speech noting that "the accusation that the Holy See attempted “to frustrate an Inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago”, which Mr Kenny made no attempt to substantiate, is unfounded. Indeed, when asked, a Government spokesperson clarified that Mr Kenny was not referring to any specific incident". The response added that "Those Reports [.........] contain no evidence to suggest that the Holy See meddled in the internal affairs of the Irish State or, for that matter, was involved in the day-to-day management of Irish dioceses or religious congregations with respect to sexual abuse issues".
On the quoting of then Cardinal Ratzinger, the response notes "The quotation in question is taken from the Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian, otherwise known as Donum Veritatis (The Gift of the Truth), published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 24 May 1990, and signed by the then Prefect and Secretary of the Congregation. It is not a private text of the then Cardinal Ratzinger but an official document of the Congregation. This document is concerned with the theologian’s service to the Church community, a service which can also be of help to society at large, and not with the manner in which the Church should behave within a democratic society nor with issues of child protection, as Mr Kenny’s use of the quotation would seem to imply"