Ruth Coppinger | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Coppinger in 2024 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Assumed office November 2024 | |
| In office May 2014 – February 2020 | |
| Constituency | Dublin West |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1967-04-18)18 April 1967 (age 58) Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | People Before Profit–Solidarity |
| Other political affiliations | ROSA |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Ruth Coppinger (born 18 April 1967) is an Irish politician and member of theSocialist Party, andTeachta Dála (TD) for theDublin West constituency. She was first elected in 2014, was re-elected in2016 general election, as a candidate forAnti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit.[1] She lost her seat at thegeneral election in February 2020, but was re-elected in 2024.
| Elections to theDáil | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Election | FPv | FPv% | Result | ||
| Socialist Party | Dublin West | 2011 by-election | 7,542 | 21.1 | Eliminated on count 4/5 | |
| Socialist Party | Dublin West | 2014 by-election | 5,977 | 20.6 | Elected on count 6/6 | |
| AAA–PBP[a] | Dublin West | 2016 | 6,520 | 15.5 | Elected on count 5/5 | |
| Solidarity–PBP[b] | Dublin West | 2020 | 4,353 | 10.0 | Eliminated on count 6/6 | |
| PBP–Solidarity[b] | Dublin West | 2024 | 3,552 | 8.0 | Elected on count 13/13 | |
Coppinger was a member ofFingal County Council for theMulhuddart local electoral area from 2003 to 2014.[2] She was co-opted to the council in 2003, replacingJoe Higgins. She was elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2009. She was an unsuccessful candidate for theSocialist Party[3] at the2011 Dublin West by-election.[2]
In March 2013 Coppinger became a founding member ofROSA, a socialist feminist organisation which, amongst other things, began advocating for abortion rights in Ireland.[4]
Following victory in the2014 Dublin West by-election, Coppinger joined her party colleague Joe Higgins in theDáil[5][6] After being elected, she called for a mass campaign of opposition to water charges being implemented by theFine Gael-Labour Party coalition.[7]
In November 2014, she called for the gradual nationalisation of US multinationals to prevent job losses. In response,Fianna Fáil’s jobs spokesperson Dara Calleary called the idea “reckless and ludicrous”, as it would "place a massive burden on taxpayers and the public finances.".[8]
In September 2015, she joined homeless families fromBlanchardstown, in occupying aNama-controlled property as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the housing crisis.[9] In October 2015, she joined families in their occupation of a show house in her constituency, to protest at the lack of availability of affordable social housing.[10] She has also supported the tenants ofTyrrelstown, who were made homeless when aGoldman Sachs vulture fund sold their houses.[11][12][13][14][15]
She was re-elected to the Dáil at the2016 general election, this time under theAnti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit banner.[16] On 10 March 2016, at the first sitting of the32nd Dáil, she nominatedRichard Boyd Barrett for the office ofTaoiseach, quotingJames Connolly from a hundred years previously when she said: "The day has passed for patching up the capitalist system. It must go" and declaring: "We will not vote for the identical twin candidates" of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil after they "imposed austerity".[17] On 6 April 2016, following the failure of the Dáil to elect a Taoiseach at that first sitting, Coppinger was nominated for the role of Taoiseach, becoming the first female nominee in the history of the state.[18][19][20][21]
In April 2018, in the lead-up to the repeal of theEighth Amendment, Coppinger along with her colleaguePaul Murphy held up a Repeal sign during leader's questions and was reprimanded by theCeann Comhairle.[22] Coppinger is an advocate for abortion rights in Ireland; in 2016, Coppinger tabled the private members' motion to repeal the 8th amendment.[23]
In November 2018, Coppinger protested in the Dáil against the conduct of a rape trial in Ireland. During the trial, the defence team, as part of their argument that the sex had been consensual, stated that the 17-year-old victim had worn a thong with a lace front. The defendant was subsequently found not guilty. During a sitting of the Dáil, Coppinger held up a similar pair of underwear and admonished the conduct of the trial, suggestingvictim-blaming tactics had been used and suggested this was a routine occurrence in Irish courts. She called on the TaoiseachLeo Varadkar to support her party's bill that would increase sex education in Irish schools and provide additional training to the Irish judiciary and jurors on how to handle cases of rape. Varadkar responded that victims should not be blamed for what happens to them, irrespective of how they are dressed, where they are or if they have consumed alcohol.[24][25][26]
In 2019 she sponsored a private member's bill – the Domestic Violence (No-contact order) (Amendment) Bill 2019.[27][28] The bill lapsed with the dissolution of the Dáil and Seanad.
At thegeneral election in February 2020, Coppinger was defeated in the Dublin West constituency.[29][30] She unsuccessfully contested the2020 Seanad election for theNUI constituency.[31]
In June 2024, Coppinger was elected to Fingal County Council for the Castleknock local electoral area on the 7th Count.[32]
At the2024 general election, Coppinger was elected to the Dáil.
In April 2025 Coppinger alleged on the Dáil record, and in public statements,[33] that she personally knew pro-Palestinian protesters who had been unfairly "stripped-searched" and in one case subjected to a "cavity search" during arrests made at a protest outside the Dáil on 1 April.[34] On 15 April the Minister for JusticeJim O'Callaghan stated that an investigation had been carried out, and he alleged that he had video evidence (CCTV footage) proving that no such searches had taken place.[33] Furthermore,Fiosrú (formerly the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission) never received a formal complaint about any alleged searches. Coppinger stood by her statement, asserting she believed the women’s accounts and questioned why such allegations would be fabricated.Garda CommissionerDrew Harris stated that he intends to write a letter of complaint to theCeann Comhairle in regard to Coppinger's Dáil statements.[35]
In May 2025, Coppinger and Paul Murphy sparked controversy when they refused to answer questions fromGript journalist Ben Scallan during a press event outside Leinster House, stating that Gript was not a legitimate news outlet but a propaganda arm of violent right-wing extremism. Their refusal, despite Gript being a member of thePress Council of Ireland, drew backlash from journalists who argued that elected representatives have a duty to engage with all accredited media. Coppinger later apologised for calling journalists "very pathetic" in a tweet, acknowledging the tone was inappropriate, though she and Murphy maintained that they had the right to avoid media they considered disingenuous.[36][37] Amongst those critical of Coppinger and Murphy's stance were theIrish Examiner,[38] theIrish Times,[39] and journalistsMatt Cooper andIvan Yates.[40]
Coppinger is an advocate of secularism and believes in abolishing both theAngelus and the Dáil prayer, viewing them as relics of an outdated intertwining of religion and governance. She supports the separation of Church and State, criticising the Catholic Church's historical influence in education and health, as well as its financial privileges, including exemptions from accountability under regulations like SIPO. She has called for the requisitioning of Church lands and property, citing the Church’s failure to meet commitments to abuse victims and the necessity of addressing historical injustices.[41]
On drug policy, Coppinger supports decriminalisation and endorses thePortuguese model, which treats addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal matter. She emphasises the hypocrisy of criminalising drug use while overlooking the societal harm caused by alcohol and advocates for expanding access to medicinal cannabis, criticising the political inertia in addressing this need.[41]
In 2018 Coppinger praised theMeToo movement for exposing patterns of abuse and systemic inequality. However, she also noted the limitations of achieving justice through traditional channels and called for a stronger focus on combating intimate partner violence and societal tolerance of such abuse.[41]
In 2013 duringreferendum to abolish the Irish senate, Coppinger campaigned for a yes vote, calling the institution elitist and undemocratic. However, in 2020 following the loss of her Dáil seat, she ran (unsuccessfully) for a seat in the Senate. Challenged by theIrish Examiner on this, Coppinger stated that so long as the Senate continues to exist, it should be used to further progressive causes.[42]
Coppinger lives in Mulhuddart. She is a secondary school teacher.[43] Her eldest brother Eugene Coppinger served onFingal County Council from 2011 to 2019.[44]
Eugene Coppinger, brother of new Dublin West TD Ruth Coppinger, had a successful campaign. Mr Coppinger, a Socialist Part[y] and Anti-Austerity Alliance candidate, said the whole family is proud of his little sister Ruth's achievement.
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