Michael McDowell (politician)

For the former English racing driver, see Mike MacDowel.

Michael McDowell (born May, 1951) is a senior Irish Progressive Democrats politician. He is a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South East and is currently the Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform. He has previously been the Attorney General of Ireland (1999-2002) and is also the President of the Progressive Democrats.

Life before election to the Dáil

Michael McDowell was born in Dublin, Ireland and was educated at the Jesuit school Gonzaga College and then at University College Dublin and King's Inns in Dublin where he qualified as a barrister. McDowell was part of the legal team that defended Malcolm MacArthur, the murderer (see GUBU). He became involved in politics, supporting Fine Gael at first. When Des O'Malley was expelled from Fianna Fáil in 1985 McDowell was one of the people who helped him found the Progressive Democrats. He is the husband of UCD accountancy Professor Niamh Brennan and brother of UCD economics lecturer Moore McDowell. He is also the grandson of Irish scholar and revolutionary Eoin MacNeill.

Career in the Dáil and Attorney General

McDowell was one of 14 Progressive Democrat TDs elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1987 general election, the first election after the party was founded. He lost his seat in the 1989 election but was made Chairman of the Party. McDowell regained his seat in the 1992 election but lost it again in the 1997 election. At various times, he has served as a member of the PD front bench in roles as spokesman for Foreign Affairs, Northern Ireland and Finance.

In July 1999 McDowell was appointed Attorney-General of Ireland, a position he held until 2002.

In 2000 he suggested changing the name of the party to the Radical Party but to no avail [1].

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Following the 2002 General Election McDowell regained his Dáil seat. He was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform. He has been a strong opponent of Sinn Féin and the IRA, and often takes a harder line than his coalition partners, Fianna Fáil. He is admired by many unionists in Northern Ireland for this stance.

As Justice Minister, he has attracted a good deal of controversy:

• He has sped up deportation of failed asylum seekers, including one case in 2005 where a student, Olunkunle Eluhanla who while preparing for his Leaving Certificate examinations was deported back to Nigeria. After a public outcry, McDowell allowed his return.
• In February 2005, he accused the Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams of being a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army's Army Council.
• In 2005, he announced plans to introduce anti-social behaviour orders, although not in the same form as those in the United Kingdom.
• In 2003, he banned under-18s from pubs after 9pm. This regulation was highly unpopular and was later relaxed to 10pm during the summer months.
• Other changes to drinking laws of the State included prohibiting drinks promotions, as well as making it legal for publicans to refuse entry to those under 21. This is despite the fact that the legal age to drink in all establishments in the Republic is 18. This change was incompatible with existing equality legislation, so this legislation also had to be altered.
• Tried to liberalise the drinks industry in an attempt to bring in a more European cafe-style drink culture by granting licenses for "cafe-bars" which would have a limited capacity and serve meals as well as alcohol. This initiative was dropped due to objections from publicans and members of his coalition partners, Fianna Fáil.
• He has reformed the private security industry, regulating it for the first time ever.
• He has launched reforms of the Garda Siochána (the national police force).
• On 13 December 2005, using Dáil privilege (which means one cannot be sued for defamation due to any speech made in either house), he claimed that Frank Connolly, a journalist with Republican sympathies and a brother of one of the 'Colombia Three', had travelled to Colombia under a false passport. This accusation led to the withdrawal of funding from the Centre for Public Inquiry, an investigative organisation of which Frank Connolly was the director.
• On 20 March 2006, he apologized for remarks he made comparing the Opposition spokesperson on Justice, Richard Bruton TD, to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels [2]. He had made these remarks after Mr. Bruton had highlighted to the Dáil that despite Mr. McDowells claims of increases in Garda personnel in 2005, only 6 extra gardai had been added to the Dublin police force in that year.
• In May 2006, the Irish Supreme Court struck down the law on statutory rape was unconstitutional as it did not allow an individual accused to enter the defense of reasonable belief that the victim was of age. McDowell was widely criticised for failing to anticipate the decision.

Party Leadership

In June 2006, McDowell was involved in a leadership dispute with party leader Mary Harney, over an alleged promise by Harney to step down in favour of him. The dispute appeared to have been resolved with Harney remaining as leader. On 7 September 2006, Mary Harney suddenly resigned as leader of the party.

External links

• Progressive Democrats' Website
• Michael McDowell's electoral history (ElectionsIreland.org)

References

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This page incorporates information from the Oireachtas Members Database