The Green Party is a green political party that operates in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It holds a pro-European stance. It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes. The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and adopted its current English language name in 1987 while the Irish name was kept unchanged. The party leader is Eamon Ryan, and the deputy leader is Catherine Martin and the cathaoirleach (chairperson) is Pauline O'Reilly. Green Party candidates have been elected to most levels of representation: local government, Dáil Éireann, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the European Parliament.
Events from the year 1999 in Ireland.
Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross is an Irish former Independent politician who served as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from May 2016 to June 2020. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency from 2016 to 2020, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Dublin South constituency. He was a member of Seanad Éireann for the Dublin University from 1981 to 2011, until his election to Dáil Éireann at the 2011 general election.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as the Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann since March 2016. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare South constituency since 2002. He was a Senator for the Agricultural Panel from 2000 to 2002.
The College Tribune is a student newspaper which serves Ireland's largest third level institution, University College Dublin. It was established in 1989 with the assistance of journalist and broadcaster Vincent Browne who was attending the university as an evening student at the time. Browne noted the campus' lack of a news outlet which was independent of both the university and University College Dublin Students' Union and alongside founding editor Eamon Dillon set up the Tribune to correct this. Initially, a close working relationship was maintained between the Tribune and the Sunday Tribune which was at the time edited by Browne. This relationship afforded the paper the use of professional production facilities in its fledgling years. Ultimately however, the student newspaper would outlast its national weekly counterpart with the Sunday Tribune having ceased publication in 2011. The College Tribune is UCD's oldest surviving newspaper having been published continuously for over 30 years.
The National Student Media Awards or Smedias are an annual All-Ireland student journalism competition run by the Oxygen.ie website. The awards have been labelled "Ireland's premier student awards".
Simon Harris is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael since 2024. A TD for the Wicklow constituency since 2011, he has served as a minister in the government of Ireland since 2016 and formerly served as a minister of state from 2014 to 2016.
Regina Doherty is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann since 2022. She was Leader of the Seanad from 2020 to 2022, and has been Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad since June 2020. She has been a Senator since June 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. She served as Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection from 2017 to 2020 and Government Chief Whip from 2016 to 2017. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath East constituency from 2011 to 2020.
Hildegarde Naughton is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Health since December 2022, and as a Minister of State attending cabinet since June 2020. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency since 2016. She previously served as Chair of the Committee on Communications, Climate Action and the Environment from 2016 to 2020 and Mayor of Galway from 2011 to 2012. She also served as a Senator from 2013 to 2016, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.
Ruth Coppinger is an Irish politician and member of the Socialist Party. She was elected as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency in 2014. At the 2016 general election, she ran as a candidate for Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit and retained her seat in Dáil Éireann until 2020. She lost her seat at the general election in February 2020.
Máiría Cahill is an Irish politician. In October 2014, she waived anonymity as a complainant in a sexual abuse case to tell of her claims of being sexually abused as a teenager by her uncle-in-law Martin Morris, a Provisional IRA member and allegations of being subjected to an IRA internal investigation which forced her to confront her abuser. The documentary, A Woman Alone with the IRA, prompted a review of Public Prosecution Service conduct in three cases related to Cahill's allegations. In October 2015, the Labour Party announced Cahill had joined the party and she would be its candidate for election to Seanad Éireann. Cahill was elected as a Senator in November 2015 on the first count, with 122 first preferences out of 188 valid votes from Oireachtas members. In July 2018 she joined Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party, which she left in November 2019 as a result of its decision not to field a candidate in Belfast North during the 2019 United Kingdom general election.
The 32nd Dáil was elected at the 2016 general election on 26 February and first met at 10.30 a.m. on 10 March 2016. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. The 32nd Dáil was dissolved by President Michael D. Higgins on 14 January 2020, at the request of the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The 32nd Dáil lasted 1,406 days.
The 25th Seanad was in office from 2016 to 2020. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas, followed the 2016 general election to the 32nd Dáil on 26 February. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels by serving politicians, for which polling closed on 25 April; 6 were elected in two university constituencies, for which polling closed on 26 April; and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach on 27 May 2016. It remained in office until the close of poll for the 26th Seanad in March 2020.
Lisa Chambers is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, and former barrister who has served as Leader of the Seanad since December 2022. She served as deputy leader of the Seanad from 2020 to 2022, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad since June 2020. She previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency from 2016 to 2020.
Neale Richmond is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister of State since 2023. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency since the 2020 general election. He previously served as a Senator for the Labour Panel from 2016 to 2020.
The Citizens' Assembly is a citizens' assembly established in Ireland in 2016 to consider several political questions including the Constitution of Ireland. Questions considered include: abortion, fixed term parliaments, referendums, population ageing, and climate change. Over 18 months a report is produced on each topic. The government is required to respond officially to the reports in the Oireachtas (parliament); as of 9 April 2019 responses have been given on three of the five topics.
Aontú is an all-Ireland political party that was formally launched in January 2019, and operates in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ideologically, Aontú is opposed to abortion and combines elements of social conservatism with advocacy for a united Ireland and centre-left economics. It has been led by Peadar Tóibín since its foundation.
An indirect election to the 26th Seanad took place after the 2020 Irish general election, with postal ballots due on 30 and 31 March. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as the lower house of representatives. The election was held for 49 of the 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 are elected for five vocational panels, and six are elected in two university constituencies. The remaining 11 senators are nominated by the newly elected Taoiseach when the Dáil reconvenes after the general election.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and affected the political system of the Republic of Ireland, causing suspensions of legislative activities and isolation of multiple politicians due to fears of spreading the virus. Several politicians have tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
A by-election was held for the Seanad Éireann Dublin University constituency in Ireland in March 2022. Ballot papers were issued on 25 February and polls closed at 11 a.m. on 30 March 2022. The election was won by former army officer and whistleblower Tom Clonan.
