John Halligan is an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 politician. He was elected as 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 the Waterford constituency

Waterford (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Waterford is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...

 at the 2011 general election. He was first elected to the Waterford City Council

Waterford City Council

Waterford City Council is the local authority which is responsible for the city of Waterford and its immediate hinterland in Ireland. The Council is responsible for Housing and Community, Roads and Transportation, Urban planning and Development, Amenity and Culture, and Environment.The Chairman ...

 in 1999 for the Workers' Party of Ireland

Workers' Party of Ireland

The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....

.

At the 2004 local elections he topped the poll in Waterford No. 3 electoral area. In February 2008 he resigned from the Workers' Party when the party refused to drop its opposition to service charges, which Halligan supported. In 2009, as an independent candidate, Halligan again topped the poll in his area. After the 2009 elections, Halligan entered into a pact 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 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...

 on Waterford City Council and was duly elected Mayor of Waterford city serving from 2009–10. He was an unsuccessful Workers' Party candidate for the Waterford constituency at the 2002

Irish 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...

 and 2007 general elections.

He was elected as TD for Waterford at the 2011 general election receiving 5,546 first preference votes (10.3%) and was elected on the 11th count.