John Halligan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Halligan in 2017 | |
| Minister of State | |
| 2017–2020 | Business, Enterprise and Innovation |
| 2016–2017 | Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
| 2016–2020 | Education and Skills |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office February 2011 – February 2020 | |
| Constituency | Waterford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1955-01-18)18 January 1955 (age 71) Waterford, Ireland |
| Party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | Workers' Party(1999–2007) |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Waterford Institute of Technology |
John Halligan (born 18 January 1955) is an Irish formerindependent politician who served as aTeachta Dála (TD) for theWaterford constituency from 2011 to 2020.[2] He also served asMinister of State from 2016 to 2020.
He was elected to theWaterford City Council in 1999, for theWorkers' Party. At the2004 local elections, he topped the poll in Waterford No. 3 electoral area. He was an unsuccessful Workers' Party candidate for the Waterford constituency at the2002 and2007 general elections.[3] In February 2008, he resigned from the Workers' Party, when the party refused to drop its opposition to service charges, which Halligan supported.[4] In 2009, as an Independent candidate, Halligan again topped the poll in his area.[3] After the2009 local elections, Halligan entered into a pact withFine Gael and theLabour Party onWaterford City Council. As a result, he was duly electedMayor of Waterford, serving from 2009 to 2010.
He was elected as aTD for theWaterford constituency at the2011 general election, receiving 5,546first preference votes (10.3%) and was elected on the 11th count.[3] Following his election to theDáil in February 2011, Sean Reinhardt was co-opted to replace Halligan on Waterford City Council.[5] In March 2011, Halligan joined the Dáiltechnical group allowing himself more speaking time in Dáil debates.[6] On 15 December 2011, he helped launch a nationwide campaign against a proposed household charge being brought in as part of the2012 budget.[7]
He joined theIndependent Alliance upon its inception in 2015.[8] On 27 February 2016, he was re-elected as aTD for Waterford at thegeneral election, receiving 8,306first preference votes and was elected on the 8th count. Afterprolonged talks on government formation, the Independent Alliance supported the nomination ofEnda Kenny asTaoiseach on 6 May 2016, allowing Kenny to become the firstLeader of Fine Gael to be re-elected to the office of Taoiseach.[9]
On 19 May 2016, Halligan was appointed bythe new government aMinister of State at the Department of Education and Skills andat the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with responsibility for Training and Skills.[10][11][12] On 20 June 2017, afterLeo Varadkar succeeded Kenny as Taoiseach, Halligan was appointed bythe government as Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills andat the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation with responsibility for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development.[13][14][15][16][17]
In November 2017, the Workplace Relations Commission found that he had violated equality legislation by asking a candidate "Do you have children? How old are your children?" during a job interview; the WRC ordered the minister's department to pay €7,500 to the candidate.[18]
He retired from the Dáil at the2020 general election on 8 February, continuing in office as a junior minister until the formation of anew government on 27 June 2020.
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jack Walsh | Mayor of Waterford 2009–2010 | Succeeded by Mary Roche |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Martin O'Regan? | Vice President of theWorkers' Party 2001?–2008 | Vacant |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
