John Dardis | |
|---|---|
| Senator | |
| In office 17 September 1997 – 13 September 2007 | |
| In office 1 November 1989 – 17 February 1993 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| In office 17 February 1993 – 17 September 1997 | |
| Constituency | Agricultural Panel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1945-07-25)25 July 1945 (age 79) County Kildare, Ireland |
| Political party | Progressive Democrats |
| Spouse | Beatrice Lane |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
John Dardis (born 25 July 1945) is an Irish formerProgressive Democrats politician who served as asenator from 1989 to 2007.[1] He is a retired farmer and formeragricultural journalist.
Dardis was educated at the Dominican College inNewbridge, County Kildare and atUniversity College Dublin, where he graduated with a degree in Agricultural Science. He is married to Beatrice Lane, and has one son and two daughters.[2] He lives in Newbridge.
Dardis served inSeanad Éireann from 1989 until he retired in 2007, beingnominated by the Taoiseach in 1989, 1997 and 2002, and elected by theAgricultural Panel in 1992 (this was facilitated by an electoral pact withDemocratic Left[3]). He was also a member ofKildare County Council for twelve years, representing theKildare town electoral area from the1991 local elections until he stood down from the council in 2003 on the abolition of thedual mandate under theLocal Government Act 2001.[4]
He stood for election toDáil Éireann for theKildare constituency at the1992, but was unsuccessful. After the division of the constituency, he stood again in theKildare South constituency at the1997 general election and again in2002, but was defeated on both occasions. He also stood for election to theEuropean Parliament in theLeinster constituency at the1989 and1994 elections.[5]
In October 2005, Dardis launched a Progressive Democrats (PD) policy document which advocated a ban on the use ofdrift nets to catchsalmon in Irish waters, and called for "fair and appropriate" compensation for licence-holders.[6] The policy was agreed at the party's conference inGalway.[7]
The PDs' policy contradicted that of thecoalition government (withFianna Fáil) of which they were part, and came days before a report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources recommended similar measures. The party was accused of "political opportunism" by theGreen Party of only taking an interest in the issue in advance of a Government policy shift,[8] andTommy Broughan of theLabour Party said ""The PDs had seven years to do something about this and they did nothing. Now they are taking a sudden interest in the issue on the eve of our report coming out."[7][9] In a letter toThe Irish Times, Dardis – who is a keen angler,[10] – replied that the party had opposed drift-netting since 1999.[11]
The governmented then established an Independent Salmon Group to review policy, and the group's report in October 2006 recommended radical measures to halt "the catastrophic decline of Irish salmon stocks", including both a ban drift nets and on angling for salmon in major rivers including theLiffey,Boyne,Barrow,Nore andSuir.[12]
In November 2006, the government imposed a ban on drift-netting with effect from January 2007, accompanied by a €30m hardship fund. The decision was publicly criticised by the junior minister responsible,Pat "the Cope" Gallagher, whoseDonegal South-West was one of the most-important drift-netting area. He said that he did not accept the basis of the scientific report on which the Cabinet had agreed the policy change.[13] The decision was supported by angling groups, but opposed by sea-fishermen, some 400 of whom marched on the Dáil.[14] The drift-netters' anger was directed at the Cabinet Minister,Noel Dempsey, with one poster in the village ofPassage East inCounty Waterford reading "'Noel Dempsey should be hanged, not Saddam – Fianna Fail Out".[15]
Dardis responded that the government had to act on the scientific advice, and said that "the future of a species that has been central to Irish life has been secured by today's decision".[14]
In June 2006, Dardis raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest in the planning system, when local council planning officials take up new jobs with development companies operating in the same area. He told the Seanad that "no less than a former county manager of a local authority has taken up a senior position with a development company", noting that the move came only three months after the manager had approved planning permission for a large and controversial development by the same company.[16]
In 2005, Dardis took office as Chairman of the Progressive Democrats Parliamentary Party. He had been expected to stand again in Kildare South at the2007 general election but announced his decision in March 2007. Noting that it would be hard for the party to win a seat in the three-seat constituency, he said "We had hoped that the most recent electoral boundary changes would result in a fourth seat for Kildare South but this did not happen".[17] He was instead appointed as chair of the party's election campaign.[18]
In the election, the PDs lost six of their eight seats in the Dáil, including that of the party leaderMichael McDowell. Dardis subsequently headed a committee to examine the options for the party leadership, which recommended that the role be taken on by a senator or councillor to take on the party leadership (the party rules then required that the position must be held by aTD).[19] A meeting of the party's General council on 16 February 2008 changed the rules to allow any senator, councillor or any party member with the support of 20 other members to stand for the party's leadership.[20]
Senator John Dardis, a solid citizen and a keen angler, has played a blinder on this. His quiet demeanour, brought on by fishing one assumes, should not be underestimated.