Paul Gogarty

Paul Nicholas Gogarty (born 20 December 1968) is a Green Party politician and has been a member of the Green Party since 1989. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2002 general election in the new Dublin Mid West constituency. He is the only Green Party TD to be elected to date in a three seat Dáil constituency. He retained his seat in 2007.

A journalist and editor until his election to the Dáil (althought there is no known record of any published works or his employment record), Gogarty first joined the Green Party in 1989 as a student. Having contested the 1991 local elections, he first stood for national election in 1992 in the Dublin West constituency. He subsequently contested the 1996 by-election and 1997 general election unsuccessfully. However he topped the poll in the Lucan Electoral Area in the 1999 local elections to South Dublin County Council.

Gogarty is currently Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science. He is the party spokesperson on "Education & Science", "Dublin", and "Sport" and is a former Green Party Delegate at the National Forum on Europe.

Gogarty was known as an outspoken performer during his first Dáil term, noted for his confrontational style and seeming inability to distinguish between Government and opposition parties when dishing out criticism of what he saw as flawed policies. He has been much quieter as a Government backbencher, only occasionally speaking, such as during the 2007 Budget debate when he spoke out about a perceived lack in Education funding. Critics say that he has yet to come to terms with how to operate in Government as a backbencher. However he was also absent for much of the first half of 2008 due to his late father's illness. He is recognised amongst his peers on the Education and Science Committee as a fair-minded Chair.

Gogarty is arguably the lowest profile of the six Green Party TDs. He unsuccesfully ran for Chair of the Green Party in 2007, but has taken a back seat since, resigning from the Party's Electoral Task Force and making no real impression internally except for the circulation of an election guide which he authored.

Gogarty may be known as an outspoken politician, however he is not a prolific issuer of press statements on the national stage. He is far better known as a constituency worker and has built up a reputation as an active local politician, representing areas such as Brittas, Clondalkin, Lucan, Newcastle, Palmerstown, Rathcoole and Saggart. Areas of local involvement include the promotion of a proper planning and transport infrastructure, the provision of community and educational facilities, fighting for funding for health care and community employment schemes and working to protect the Liffey Valley.

Gogarty has worked closely with a number of fellow Green Party politicians, including his late Council friend and colleague, Cllr Fintan McCarthy, who was killed tragically in an accident in China on August 1, 2006. His father, the late Cllr Billy Gogarty, took over Cllr McCarthy's seat in October 2006 and was elected Mayor of South Dublin in June 2007. The pair worked as a team until Mayor Gogarty's untimely death following a short illness on May 21, 2008. The again vacant seat was most recently taken over by Cllr Dorothy Corrigan, who is also understood to enjoy a close working relationship with Deputy Gogarty.

Gogarty's local political machine has been badly affected by the deaths of two Council colleagues. The Green Party has been virtually non-existent on the ground since 2006 and as a result he has struggled to maintain even his local profile. His election result in 2007 was put down to past track record rather than an effective election operation. Efforts have been made to pick up the electoral pieces, with the appointment of Cllr Dorothy Corrigan, along with an enhanced Green Team including Lucan Area Rep Tom Dowling, Local Area Rep Kevin Farrell and Young Greens' Rep Louise Archbold.

Gogarty's very early years were spent in Palmerstown. However he has lived in Lucan most of his life. His parents are from Palmerstown and Lucan. Gogarty was educated at St Mary's Boys National School and Colaiste Padraig, Lucan, where he showed an interest in debating and was a member of the team which reached the all-Ireland final in the Concern Third World Debates, 1986. He attended the then-College of Commerce, Rathmines (now DIT Aungier St), where he tried journalism.

External links

* [http://www.paulgogarty.com Paul Gogarty's website]
* [http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=4225 Paul Gogarty's electoral history] (ElectionsIreland.org)