Timmy Dooley (born 13 February 1969) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as a Senator since June 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach, and previously from 2002 to 2007 for the Administrative Panel. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Clare constituency from 2007 to 2020.[1]
Timmy Dooley | |
|---|---|
 Dooley in 2020 | |
| Senator | |
| Assumed office 29 June 2020 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| In office 12 September 2002 – 24 May 2007 | |
| Constituency | Administrative Panel |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office May 2007 – February 2020 | |
| Constituency | Clare |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 February 1969 Limerick, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse |
Emer McMahon (m. 2002) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Early and personal life
editDooley was born in Limerick[2] and was educated at Mountshannon National School and Scarriff Community College, and later at University College Dublin, where he was chairman of the Kevin Barry Cumann of Ógra Fianna Fáil in 1989. He is married to Emer McMahon and they have two daughters.[3]
Political career
editDooley was first elected to the Dáil at the 2007 general election for the Clare constituency, after topping the poll with 10,791 votes.[4]
He served as spokesperson for Transport, Tourism and Sport from 2011 to 2016, and as a spokesperson for Communications, Climate Action and Environment from May 2016 to February 2020. He is the current Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Climate Action, Communication Networks and Transport.
In January 2018, Dooley voiced his support for repealing the Eighth Amendment.
In October 2019, Dooley was involved in a voting controversy in the Dáil when he was absent from the chamber during voting but a vote was recorded in his seat six times.[5]. An Oireachtas report into the incident revealed that fellow Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins voted on behalf of Dooley on each occasion, as well as casting votes at other seats.[6]. Video footage showed Dooley talking to Collins prior to leaving the chamber, during which Dooley pointed to his seat and Collins nodded.[5] Dooley claimed in the Oireachtas report that he had not asked Collins to vote on his behalf during this conversation. When questioned, Dooley accepted that he had made no effort to correct the record prior to being contacted by a journalist about the incident.[6]
In a rare occurrence for an opposition TD, an amendment Dooley introduced was accepted to road traffic legislation, for significant penalties for the criminal offence of leaving the scene of a serious or fatal crash.[3]
He lost his seat at the general election in February 2020. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2020 Seanad election, but was subsequently nominated by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin to the Seanad in June 2020.
Since 2021 he has been co-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.
In July 2024, it emerged that Dooley had one of the lowest voting records in the Seanad.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Timmy Dooley". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ "Profile: Timmy Dooley (FF)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Profile: Timmy Dooley (FF)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Timmy Dooley". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ^ a b "Vote Gate: What the two TDs claim happened last Thursday". Irish Examiner. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Report of the Results of an Investigation by the Committee on Members' Interests of the 32nd Dáil Éireann of a Complaint concerning Ms. Lisa Chambers, T.D." (PDF). Committee on Members' Interests of Dáil Éireann. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ McMahon, Páraic (6 July 2024). "Dooley defends voting record in the Seanad". Clare Echo. Retrieved 9 July 2024.