George Lee (born 27 September 1962)
is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
economist, journalist, television and radio presenter, and former
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
politician. He has worked for
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
since 1992. Since 2019, he has been Environment Correspondent for
RTÉ News and Current Affairs
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...
. He previously was Economics Editor in 1996.
Lee left RTÉ and became a
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) for the
Dublin South constituency in June 2009, winning a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
with a 53.4% majority and was referred to as a "celebrity TD". On 8 February 2010, Lee announced his resignation both from Fine Gael and from
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
, having spent nine months in politics. His reasoning was that he had "virtually no influence or input". He returned to RTÉ in May 2010,
and presented ''Mind Your Business'', followed by ''The Business'' on
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
from 2010. During his time in RTÉ News, he was named Irish Journalist of the Year for uncovering a major
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
and overcharging scandal at
National Irish Bank
Danske Bank, formerly known as the National Irish Bank, is a bank operating in the Republic of Ireland. The bank is a subsidiary of the Danske Bank Group which is headquartered in Copenhagen.
Danske Bank is organised in three business units ...
.
Early and personal life
Lee's father was a motor mechanic and his mother was a hairdresser.
Lee was the seventh in a family of eight children and grew up in
Templeogue
Templeogue () is a southwestern suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It lies between the River Poddle and River Dodder, and is about halfway from Dublin's centre to the mountains to the south.
Geography Location
The centre of Templeogue is from bo ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
.
He attended
Coláiste Éanna
Coláiste Éanna Christian Brothers School is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in Ballyroan, Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1967 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers to serve the needs of the Ballyroan and adjacent parishes.
...
, a Christian Brothers' School in the Dublin suburb of
Ballyroan. Lee is a graduate of
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
and holds an
MSc in Economics from the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
where his specialist area was labour economics and unemployment.
He is married to Mary Lee (née Kitson),
they have two children, Alison and Harry,
and lives in
Cabinteely
Cabinteely () is a suburb of Dublin's southside. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland.
Geography
Cabinteely lies around the crossroads of Johnstown Road / Brennanstown Road and the Old Bray Road, and on either side of ...
. Lee famously travelled to work in RTÉ using a
Segway
The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human transp ...
,
[ once giving it a test ride live on '']Tubridy Tonight
''Tubridy Tonight'' is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest mu ...
''.
Career
Lee joined the civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
as an executive officer in the Central Statistics Office.[ Two years later he started at University College Dublin where he studied economics under academics such as Brendan Walsh and Peter Neary.
Prior to his move into broadcasting, he lectured in NUI, Galway and then worked as a journalist with '']The Sunday Business Post
The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland.
Founding to Irish financial crisi ...
''. Lee was also a Senior Economist at Riada Stockbrokers. He also worked as Treasury Economist with FTI[ and as a research economist with the ]Central Bank of Ireland
The Central Bank of Ireland ( ga, Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms ...
.[
From 1992 to 2009 he worked in ]RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
, the public broadcasting service of Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He was appointed Economics Editor with RTÉ in 1996. Lee was named Irish Journalist of the Year, along with Charlie Bird, in 1998 after they uncovered a major tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
and overcharging scandal at National Irish Bank
Danske Bank, formerly known as the National Irish Bank, is a bank operating in the Republic of Ireland. The bank is a subsidiary of the Danske Bank Group which is headquartered in Copenhagen.
Danske Bank is organised in three business units ...
. He has devised, researched and presented several television series, including ''Moneybox'', ''More To Do'', ''Winds of Change'', and ''Beyond the Berlin Wall''. He is thought of as an "economics guru". He left RTÉ "in the late 1990s" to work for BCP Stockbrokers. He left the job and returned to his RTÉ post the next day.
Before embarking on his political career, he filmed a four-part series based on the fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
in 2008. It was aired on RTÉ One
RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
in November 2009.
George Lee was parodied in the 1990s comedy ''Bull Island
Bull Island (Irish: ''Oileán an Tairbh''), more properly North Bull Island (Irish: ''Oileán an Tairbh Thuaidh''), is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off Cl ...
'', where he was seen "menacingly staring down the lens of a camera", and has also been featured on RTÉ 2fm
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...
's ''Nob Nation
''Nob Nation'' is the title of a series of topical comedy pieces broadcast since November 2006 on two national radio stations in Ireland, RTÉ 2fm and RTÉ Radio 1. The programmes are broadcast Monday through Saturday each week. ''Nob Nation'' ...
''.
Political career
On 5 May 2009 on the '' News at One'' on RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
, Lee announced that he was resigning as Economic Editor with RTÉ and announced his intention to seek the Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
nomination for the Dublin South by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in 2009. Lee took a year's unpaid leave from RTÉ in May 2009. On 6 May 2009 Lee was chosen as the Fine Gael candidate for the by-election. He was the only candidate for the nomination.
He was elected on the first count to represent Dublin South on 6 June 2009. He received over 53% of the 1st preference vote. In total he received 27,768 1st preference votes. His RTÉ position was filled by Europe editor Sean Whelan, but only as correspondent. Instead, David Murphy was promoted to Business Editor. When elected, Lee was referred to as a "Celebrity TD".
In an opinion poll concerning support for possible candidates in the 2011 presidential election conducted by the '' Sunday Independent'' in October 2009, Lee came third, receiving 12% support, in front of former Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, 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 legisl ...
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 ...
among other high-profile politicians.
Lee highlighted the failure of EMPG
Education Media and Publishing Group, more commonly known as EMPG, is a holding company registered in the Cayman Islands with no operating subsidiaries. It also has a minority interest in an affiliate that focuses on markets outside the USA cal ...
, the holding company for US publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Financial Dist ...
, and the potential impact on the Irish taxpayers of the loans given by Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank was an Republic of Ireland, Irish bank headquartered in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It began to wind down after nationalisation in 2009. In July 2011 Anglo Irish merged with the Irish Nationwide Building Society, forming a new co ...
to the investors in EMPG on 13 January 2010. Lee saw this as another example for the urgent need of an investigation into the Irish banking crisis.
Resignation from politics
On 8 February 2010 he announced his resignation from Fine Gael and from Dáil Éireann, due to having "virtually no influence or input" into shaping Fine Gael's economic policies at a time of economic upheaval. It emerged that on 2 February, Lee met with the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
and told him of his intention to resign. Kenny then offered Lee the frontbench position as spokesman on economic planning. Speaking to reporters outside Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
soon after his announcement, Lee said it would have been dishonest of him to accept the position: "I had absolutely no input for nine months. I think I had to be honest with myself and honest with the electorate about that and not pretend." Asked if his resignation was a vote of no confidence in Kenny, Lee said there were "certainly lots of large mutterings at the moment in relation to the leader's position". He said he had "minimal involvement" with Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North since 2016, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He is the Chairman of th ...
. "I had a maximum of two or three conversations with Richard Bruton in a total nine months period. I don’t know how my relationship is with im Lee said.
Kenny noted Lee had been appointed chair of the party's committee on economic policy and also its forum. "I had anticipated a very important role for eorge Leein the coming period with Fine Gael." Kenny's spokesman later dismissed the proposition that the resignation had implications for his leadership. He cited the public endorsement of Kenny by 20 Dáil deputies over the course of the weekend.[ Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan said he was surprised at the decision: "I thought that George Lee was fitting in well", adding that he believed he would have been a cabinet member in a Fine Gael-led government.
George Lee was criticised after his resignation by Senator ]Eoghan Harris
Eoghan Harris (born 13 March 1943) is an Irish journalist, columnist, director, and former politician. He has held posts in various and diverse political parties. He was a leading theoretician in the Marxist-Leninist Workers' Party of Ireland, p ...
, who was speaking on the ''Lunchtime'' programme of Newstalk
Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Autho ...
Radio. Harris suggested financial considerations and long working hours of politicians were the reasons why Lee resigned. Fine Gael TD Brian Hayes, who was Lee's campaign manager in the Dublin South by-election, said that in discussions with Lee, the latter had complained about "a major reduction in his income" since leaving RTÉ to become a Dáil backbencher. Lee denied that financial considerations had anything to do with his decision to quit politics.
Return to RTÉ
RTÉ received a letter from Lee confirming his intentions to return after his leave of absence. The ''Sunday Tribune
The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tab ...
'' said on 14 February 2010 that he would have to wait for three months before returning to RTÉ. Exactly a year after leaving RTÉ, he returned to the broadcaster on 5 May 2010. He worked as an advisor on the RTÉ business desk. He presented ''Mind Your Business'' on RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
on Saturday Mornings as a summer replacement for ''The Business''.
When John Murray moved to present his own programme, Lee took over ''The Business'' slot on 4 September 2010 on Saturday mornings on RTÉ Radio 1. In addition to the radio edition, Lee has presented a televised version on RTÉ One
RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
, also titled ''The Business''.
Lee has been Environment Correspondent for RTÉ since 27 June 2019.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, George
1962 births
20th-century Irish economists
Living people
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Alumni of University College Dublin
Fine Gael TDs
21st-century Irish economists
Members of the 30th Dáil
People from Templeogue
RTÉ newsreaders and journalists
People educated at Coláiste Éanna