Alan Shatter
| Alan Shatter TD | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister for Justice and Equality | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 9 March 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Brendan Smith (Justice and Law Reform) |
| Minister for Defence | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 9 March 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Éamon Ó Cuív |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 2007 |
|
| In office June 1981 – May 2002 |
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| Constituency | Dublin South |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 February 1951 Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Fine Gael |
| Spouse(s) | Carol Shatter |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Ballinteer |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Dublin |
| Profession | Solicitor |
| Religion | Orthodox Judaism |
| Website | www.alanshatter.com |
Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South constituency and has been the Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence since March 2011.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Background and early life
Shatter was born in Dublin to a Jewish family. He was educated at The High School, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin. He has always lived in Dublin — he grew up in Rathgar and Rathfarnham and lives now in Ballinteer with his wife Carol and two children. He is the only Jewish member of Dáil Éireann.
[edit] Political career
He was first elected to the Dáil at the 1981 general election, and was re-elected at each subsequent election until he lost his seat at the 2002 general election. He was re-elected at the 2007 general election.[2] Shatter was a member of Dublin County Council from 1991 to 1999 for the Rathfarnham area.
Having a legal background, Shatter has proposed much legislation during his time as a TD. While in opposition, he published more Private member's bills than any other TD had done previously. His bills were successful in making changes in areas such as health, sport and justice, with the government often amending bills that he brought forward and adopting them as their own. Even prior to becoming a member of the Oireachtas, Shatter satirised some of the measures inherent within a 1979 Family Planning bill in the form of his nationally published booklet, "Family Planning - Irish Style".
During the 1980s Shatter successfully lobbied for the establishment of an Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the Committee from its foundation in 1992, apart from a brief period in 1993 to 1994, and its Chairman from December 1996 to June 1997.
During a period in 1993 to 1994 he was removed by party leader John Bruton as a disciplinary measure for breaking the party whip. This was occasioned by his voting in the Dáil in favour of a Bill to ban live hare coursing. Shatter was president of the Irish Council against Blood Sports for a time.
During his time in the Dáil, he has been a Fine Gael Front Bench spokesperson on Law Reform (1982, 1987–88); the Environment (1989–91); Labour (1991); Justice (1992–93); Equality and Law Reform (1993–94); Health and Children (1997–2000); Justice, Law Reform and Defence (2000–02); Children (2007–10); and Justice and Law Reform (2010–11).
During his time out of politics after losing his seat at the 2002 general election, he practised as a solicitor and was a partner of the firm Gallagher Shatter. Among his professional affiliations, he is a Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He is currently chairman of the ATIC, an organisation campaigning for the reform of inheritance tax laws in the Republic of Ireland.
During the 2009 Gaza War, Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó'Snodaigh claimed that Shatter and the Israeli ambassador to Ireland had exposed the Oireachtas committee on Foreign Affairs to "propaganda, twisted logic and half truths". Ó'Snodaigh also said that Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, would have been proud of it.[3] In February 2009, during a sitting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs concerning the Gaza conflict, Shatter clashed verbally with Professor Ilan Pappé, Professor of History at the University of Exeter, accusing Pappé of biased scholarship and historical inaccuracies.[4]
[edit] Minister for Justice and Minister for Defence (2011–present)
On 9 March 2011, Shatter was appointed Minister for Justice and Equality and also Minister for Defence in Enda Kenny's cabinet. In May that year, he made a public statement in support of the RTÉ "Mission to Prey" Prime Time programme that defamed a priest which he later backtracked on.[5] That June, he apologised for "unfair and inaccurate" comments he made about RTÉ crime correspondent Paul Reynolds after saying he "consistently engages in tabloid sensationalism".[5][6] When eight former attorneys general criticised the proposed Twenty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland on cutting judges' pay and Oireachtas inquiries he described their views as "nonsense" and "simply wrong".[5]
One of Alan Shatter first portfolio's as new minister of justice in 2011 was dealing with the scandals of child abuse involving the Catholic church, he is responsible for the release of the Cloyne report. In the wake of several sex abuse scandals, the Fine Gael–Labour government announced controversial plans to criminalise failure to report an allegation of child abuse even in the confession box. Seán Brady, the Catholic primate of all Ireland, condemned this as compromising the seal of the confessional.
[edit] References
- ^ "Mr. Alan Shatter". Oireachtas Members Database. http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=30&MemberID=1028&ConstID=90. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ "Alan Shatter". ElectionsIreland.org. http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3325. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ "Israeli envoy condemns TD's 'outrageous' Goebbels remark". The Irish Times. 14 January 2009. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/0114/1231738223009.html.
- ^ "Israeli-born academic clashes with Shatter over Gaza violence". The Irish Times. 12 February 2009. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0212/1233867933040.html.
- ^ a b c "Shatter in U-turn on his 'rash' support for Prime Time". Irish Independent. 26 November 2011. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shatter-in-uturn-on-his-rash-support-for-prime-time-2946451.html. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ Mary Minihan; Noel Dundon (17 June 2011). "Shatter criticises RTÉ reporter". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0617/1224299071555.html. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
[edit] Publications
- Family Law in the Republic of Ireland (1980), ISBN 0-905473-43-4
- Laura: A Novel You Will Never Forget (1989), ISBN 1-85371-042-3
- Ireland and the Palestine Question 1948–2004 (2005), ISBN 0-7165-2814-2 (foreword by Alan Shatter)
[edit] External links
| Oireachtas | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Fine Gael Teachta Dála for Dublin South 1981–2002 |
Succeeded by Eamon Ryan (Green Party) |
| Preceded by Liz O'Donnell (Progressive Democrats) |
Fine Gael Teachta Dála for Dublin South 2007–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Brendan Smith as Minister for Justice and Law Reform |
Minister for Justice and Equality 2011–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Éamon Ó Cuív |
Minister for Defence 2011–present |
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- 1951 births
- Alumni of Trinity College, Dublin
- Fine Gael politicians
- Irish Jews
- Irish solicitors
- Jewish politicians
- Living people
- Members of the 22nd Dáil
- Members of the 23rd Dáil
- Members of the 24th Dáil
- Members of the 25th Dáil
- Members of the 26th Dáil
- Members of the 27th Dáil
- Members of the 28th Dáil
- Members of the 30th Dáil
- Members of the 31st Dáil
- People educated at The High School, Dublin
- People from County Dublin
- Teachtaí Dála
