Daithi Doolan (born 13 May 1968,

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

) is an Irish politician. A member of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

, he is a councillor on

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...

Election results

Local elections

As Sinn Féin candidate in the 1999 local elections for the Dublin South East Inner City, Doolan polled 13.38%, coming fourth and missing out on a seat by 62 votes. In 2004 Doolan recontested in the area polling 24.11%, securing the second position. In the 2009 election he polled 11.9% and lost his seat by 259 votes. At the 2014 elections, Doolan contested in the Dublin Ballyfermot Drimnagh area, and topped the poll with 19.28%.

General elections

Doolan contested the 2002 general election, attaining 2,398 first preference votes (7.39%) in Dublin South-East, coming seventh thereby missing out on one of the top four positions. In the 2007 general election he polled 1,599 first preference votes (4.72%) in the same area, again coming seventh.

Career

As an elected councillor between 2004 and 2009, Doolan called for the easing of restrictions on immigrant workers, and for better fire-safety provisions in apartment construction. He opposed the creation of an energy-from-waste facility at

Poolbeg Poolbeg () is an artificial peninsula extending from Ringsend, Dublin, into Dublin Bay. History The Poolbeg peninsula was built between the mid 18th century and the present day, starting with the Ballast Office Wall, the first section of the ...

, supported the

Shell to Sea Shell to Sea ( ga, Shell chun Sáile) is an Irish organisation based in the parish of Kilcommon in Erris, County Mayo. It opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas Gas pipeline, pipeline through the parish, as well as the ongoing const ...

campaign and opposed cuts to Dublin public services. After losing his seat in June 2009, Doolan was hired in October as the coordinator for the 'Dublin Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign', an organisation that promotes a community development approach to tackling the drugs problem. As coordinator Doolan criticised the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

for scrapping the once full-time position of 'Minister for National Drugs Strategy' and regulating that role to another Minister with other responsibilities. As well as calling for a full-time junior minister, Doolan and CityWide requested the government scrap proposed funding cuts for drug services, also asking for additional funding for the issue, as well as for community participation and consultation for handling the drugs problem. In September 2011 Doolan left Citywide to take up a post as parliamentary assistant to

Peadar Tóibín Peadar Tóibín (; born 19 June 1974) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of Aontú since January 2019. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath West constituency since 2011. He previously served as Chair of the Committee on ...

TD, Sinn Féin spokesperson on enterprise, jobs, innovation and the

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

. Before being re-elected to Dublin City Council in 2014, Doolan was parliamentary assistant to Brian Stanley TD.

Joseph Rafferty controversy

Doolan was involved in controversy after a Dubliner, Joseph Rafferty, was shot dead. Rafferty's sister, Esther Uzell-Rafferty, claimed that the IRA had killed her brother, and that Doolan knew the identity of his killer, claims which Doolan denied. Doolan's denial of involvement in the murder was later backed up by a report from

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

. Ahern stated "I don't think there were any instructions given by the IRA," adding: "Elements, probably of criminality, claimed they had links with republicans." Doolan has called for public co-operation with the Garda in the investigation of Rafferty's murder.

Personal life

Doolan is married with four children. He has been a strict vegetarian since he was 16 because of his concerns for the environment.

References

External links

CityWide Drug Crisis Campaign Official SiteDaithí Doolan's Twitter Account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doolan, Daithi 1968 births Living people Sinn Féin politicians Politicians from County Cork Local councillors in Dublin (city)