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Fidelma Healy Eames

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Fidelma Healy Eames
Senator
In office
13 September 2007 – 8 June 2016
ConstituencyLabour Panel
Personal details
Born
Fidelma Healy

(1962-07-14) 14 July 1962 (age 62)
Moylough, County Galway, Ireland
Political partyIndependent (from July 2013)
Other political
affiliations		Fine Gael
SpouseMichael Eames
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Primary school teacher
  • College lecturer

Fidelma Healy Eames (born 14 July 1962) is an Irish former politician.[1] She was first elected to Seanad Éireann in 2007 by the Labour Panel.[2] As a member of the Reform Alliance group, she sat as an Independent senator, having lost the Fine Gael parliamentary party whip in July 2013.[3] In March 2016 she announced her retirement from politics.[1] In April 2019, Healy Eames was a candidate in the 2019 European Parliament election in Ireland for the Midlands-North West constituency.[4]

Personal life and business

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Healy Eames was born in Lakeview, Moylough, County Galway. She attended St. Patricks NS, Moylough and Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew. She grew up on the family dairy farm with her three sisters and one brother.[5][6][7] Healy Eames is married to Michael Eames. They live in Oranmore, County Galway.[8]

Healy Eames graduated from both Carysfort College, Western Connecticut State University in the US, and NUI Galway, holding B.Ed., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees respectively.[6] She was a primary school teacher and college lecturer in teacher education,[2] and is the director of her own business, "FHE Education and Training Providers".[9]

During the 2018 referendum to remove the constitutional prohibition of abortion, Healy Eames set up an anti-abortion website to advocate adoption as an option in crisis pregnancies.[10][11] Healy Eames is herself an adoptive parent of two.[11][12]

Political career

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Local representation

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Healy Eames was first elected to Galway County Council, for the Oranmore electoral area, and served there from 2004 to 2007. Her various appointments as a Galway County Councillor (2004-2007) included: Chairperson of County Galway Vocational Education Committee (VEC); member of Governing Body, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), member of HSE West Regional Forum, director of Galway Airport, member of Galway City and County Enterprise Board, member of Western Rail Committee and member of Galway Arts Centre Board.[9]

General election results

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She was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2016 general elections for the Galway West constituency.[13] In the 2016 general election, she received 2.17% of the first preference vote, down from the 8.3% she had received in the 2011 election.[13]

Senator

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She was elected as a Senator by sitting TDs and councilors in 2007, and appointed the Fine Gael Seanad (senate) spokesperson on Education and Science. In 2011, she was appointed the Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Social Protection and member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science.[9] Healy Eames was the Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Social Protection until July 2013, when was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party after defying the party whip by voting against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013.[3] On 13 September 2013, she and six other expellees formed the Reform Alliance, described as a "loose alliance" rather than a political party.[14]

In July 2015, during a Seanad debate on a bill to curb online freedom of speech, Healy Eames referred to a "wiffycode" (meaning a Wi-Fi hotspot password). A clip of this and the accompanying hashtag "#wiffycode" went viral,[15][16] and a parody mix was released by radio station Spin 1038.[17] She later stated that she had been using the French pronunciation of Wi-Fi.[18]

In March 2016, she announced her intention not to contest the 2016 Seanad election, and plan to resign from politics.[19][1]

2019 European Parliament election

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In May 2019 Healy Eames was an independent candidate in the Midlands–North-West constituency for the 2019 European Parliament election.[4] She received 15,991 (2.7%) first preference votes and was not elected.[20][21]

Controversies

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A car belonging to Healy Eames was seized in Galway city on 2 July 2012 for failure to display a valid car disc. She told the Galway Advertiser: "I was using public transport up and down to Dublin and I had neglected the car tax. There is no excuse. I was completely in the wrong".[22]

She was then fined for boarding the Galway to Dublin train without a ticket on 12 July 2012, ten days after her car was seized. A fellow passenger alleged that Healy Eames said "she is a Senator and that she makes the law" when an inspector asked her to produce her ticket.[23] She was convicted and fined €1,850 for the motor tax offence.[7][24][25]

Later that month, on 26 July, Galway Circuit Civil Court ordered the husband of Healy Eames to pay more than €12,000 in unpaid fees to a tradesman employed to carry out renovations at the Healy Eames residence in County Galway. The tradesman had launched a lawsuit in 2010 against the Healy Eameses for thousands of euros in unpaid fees.[26]

The following month, on 20 August, she was involved in controversy over her decision to charge a state agency the cost of a plane ticket for her husband to accompany her on a hotel break to Kenya. When this was reported in Irish media, she said she would pay back the money within "a couple of weeks".[27]

In March 2015, she attracted press attention for a tweet in which she claimed that were Ireland to legally recognise same-sex marriage, it could mean an end to the celebration of Mothers Day in the country. As evidence, she claimed that various U.S. states had banned Mothers Day and Fathers Day, referring to it as "political correctness gone mad".[28] When critics pointed out that her claim regarding U.S. states was untrue, she retracted that statement, commenting that she meant to refer to a number of U.S. schools.[29][30] In defending her comments, Healy Eames cited as her source Rense.com, a website run by Jeff Rense, a conspiracy theorist known for Holocaust denial, and criticised by the Anti-Defamation League.[31] Critics in the Yes campaign accused her of employing scare tactics ahead of the May 2015 referendum on the issue.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Senator Fidelma Healy Eames announces she is leaving politics". Irish Times. 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Fidelma Healy Eames". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Seanad passes abortion legislation second stage". RTÉ News. 16 July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Total of 59 candidates declare for European Parliament elections". Irish Times. 15 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  5. ^ Sean Donnelly. "Election 2011". Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames profile p.429.
  6. ^ a b "Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames Fine Gael Profile". Fine Gael. 16 July 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Court orders FG Senator's husband to pay plumber". Irish Independent. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Fidelma Healy Eames: 'They are making out like I am totally materialistic, that I'm on a gravy train'". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 10 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "About: Fidelma Healy Eames". Official website. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Website promotes adoption as an option in crisis pregnancies". The Irish Times. 28 March 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  11. ^ a b Fidelma Healy Eames (25 March 2018). "Columnists - Opinion - "Why my adoption website is a lifeline for Irish women in crisis pregnancies"". Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Seanad passes adoption rights bill". RTE.ie. 18 February 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Fidelma Healy Eames". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  14. ^ "The politicians formerly known as the Fine Gael rebels are now the Reform Alliance". TheJournal.ie. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  15. ^ Loftus, Valerie (3 July 2015). "People cannot get over Fidelma Healy-Eames and her 'wiffy code'". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Irish senator's 'wiffy' code goes viral". Irish News. 3 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  17. ^ "The WiffyCode Song". 3 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Healy Eames hits back at critics of 'wiffy' comment". Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Healy Eames opts out of Seanad election". Galway Independent. 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  20. ^ "European Election 2019 Results For Midlands North West". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Elections 2019 - European Elections - Midlands-North-West". rte.ie. RTÉ. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  22. ^ "FG Senator Fidelma Healy Eames admits her car seized for no tax disc". Irish Independent. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  23. ^
  24. ^ "Fidelma Healy Eames fined €1850 over Motor Tax". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  25. ^ "Court orders payment of €12,000 to plumber in unpaid fees". RTÉ News. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  26. ^ "Court orders payment of €12,000 to plumber in unpaid fees". RTÉ News. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  27. ^ Kelly, Fiach (20 August 2012). "Fidelma Healy Eames to repay cost of Africa flights paid for by State". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  28. ^ Michael O'Regan (15 March 2015). "Passing marriage equality referendum could 'end Mother's Day'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  29. ^ "Senator explains controversial #pcgonemad tweet". The Irish Examiner. 16 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  30. ^ a b Harry McGee (16 March 2015). "Healy Eames accepts Mother's Day not banned in any US state". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  31. ^ "Keeping Mum". Broadsheet.ie. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
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