Gemma Hussey (; born 11 November 1938) is an Irish 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 who served as Minister for Social Welfare from 1986 to 1987, Minister for Labour from January 1987 to March 1987, Minister for Education from 1982 to 1986,

Leader of the Seanad The Leader of the Seanad (referred to within the Seanad as Leader of the House ga, Treoraí an Tí) is a member of Seanad Éireann appointed by the Taoiseach to direct government business. Since December 2022, the incumbent is Lisa Chambers of ...

and Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad from 1981 to 1982. She served as 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

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

constituency from 1982 to 1989. She also served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

from 1977 to 1982.

Early life

Hussey was born in

Bray, County Wicklow Bray ( ) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census). Bray is ...

, in 1938. She was educated at Loreto College,

Foxrock Foxrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is within the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, in the postal district of Dublin 18 and in the Roman Catholic parish of Foxrock. History The suburb of Foxrock was d ...

and at

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 ...

. Hussey had a successful career running a language school in the late 1960s and 1970s. She married Derry Hussey in 1976, and they had 3 children. Derry Hussey died in 2020.

Political career

Senator

She was elected by the

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

, serving in the upper house of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

, from 1977 until 1982. She sat as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Senator for the first three years, before joining Fine Gael. She then served as Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Women's Affairs from 1981 to 1982. She went on to be the party leader in the Seanad and leader of the Seanad from 1981 to 1982.

TD and Minister

She was first elected to

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 ...

on her second attempt, at the February 1982 general election, as a Fine Gael TD for

. Hussey served as Minister for Education in the Fine Gael– Labour Party coalition government of

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 ...

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...

from 1982 to 1986, during which time she was heavily criticised by teachers' unions during a bitter pay strike in 1984. The 1980s was a decade of economic crisis and the government was faced with challenges caused by the precarious state of the public finances. This meant that she had to find ways to reduce the Education budget. One of her measures was to introduce charges for the school transport system, which proved unpopular. However, third-level enrolments were increasing rapidly and Hussey secured increased funding for higher education at a time of severe spending cutbacks. In 1986, she became Minister for Social Welfare. FitzGerald considered creating a new ministry for Hussey as Minister for EEC affairs. However, she did not wish to compete with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and so declined the position. Always a liberal and a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, she took a strongly supportive position on the legalisation of divorce, which was defeated in a referendum in 1986, and frequently suggested that she supported the liberalisation of Ireland's abortion ban. A member of Fine Gael's liberal wing, which included

Monica Barnes Monica Barnes (; 12 February 1936 – 2 May 2018) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire (Dáil constituency), Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1982 to 1992 and 1997 to 2002. She was a Seanad ...

Nuala Fennell Nuala Fennell (; 25 November 1935 – 11 August 2009) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and activist who served as Minister of State from December 1982 to January 1987 with responsibility for Women's Affairs and Family Law. She served ...

Alan Shatter Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author and former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Sou ...

and

Alan Dukes Alan Dukes (born 1945) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication from 1996 to 1997, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of Fine Gael from 1987 to 1990, Minister for Justice from 1986 t ...

, she was disliked by the conservative wing of the party which included TDs like

Oliver J. Flanagan Oliver James Flanagan (22 May 1920 – 26 April 1987) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1976 to 1977 and as a Parliamentary Secretary from 1954 to 1957 and from 1975 to 1976. He served as a Teachta Dála ...

Alice Glenn Alice Glenn (; 17 December 1921 – 16 December 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. Although only briefly apart of national politics ...

and

Gerry L'Estrange Mathew Gerrard L'Estrange (7 November 1917 – 5 April 1996) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence from June 1981 to November 1981. He served as a Teachta Dála ...

. During a meeting with

Keith Joseph Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, (17 January 1918 – 10 December 1994), known as Sir Keith Joseph, 2nd Baronet, for most of his political life, was a British politician, intellectual and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he ...

, British

Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

, Joseph boasted to Hussey that he held surgeries once a month, which was considered a high number in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. Hussey responded that she had to do clinics three days every week to hold on to her seat as a TD. The book of her cabinet diaries, ''At the Cutting Edge'', published in 1990, was hailed as the most thorough and realistic account of life inside the cabinet in Ireland. She retired from politics at the 1989 general election. In 1990, she was sharply criticised within her party for suggesting that she might support the Labour Party presidential candidate,

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

, a feminist, over the official Fine Gael candidate

Austin Currie Joseph Austin Currie (11 October 1939 – 9 November 2021) was an Irish politician who served as a Minister of State for Justice with responsibility for Children's Rights from 1994 to 1997. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West ...

. Mary Robinson went on to become Ireland's first female President. An enthusiastic

Europhile A Europhile is a person who is fond of, admires, or loves European culture, society, history, food, music etc.

, Hussey spends a lot of her time now promoting the advancement of women in politics around the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. In the lead-up to the 1997 presidential election, Hussey was mentioned as a possible Fine Gael candidate, and was predicted to do well across Dublin and in her native Wicklow constituency and among supporters of Fine Gael and of the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats ( ga, An Páirtí Daonlathach, literally "The Democratic Party" ), commonly referred to as the PDs, was a conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Mal ...

. In the event the party nomination went to

Mary Banotti Mary Elizabeth Banotti (; born 26 May 1939) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1984 to 2004. Early life and education Banotti was born in Malahide, Du ...

, who lost heavily to

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

in the election.

References

Bibliography

*Hussey, Gemma: ''At the Cutting Edge: Cabinet Diaries, 1982–1987'' (Dublin, 1990) *Hussey, Gemma: ''Ireland Today: Anatomy of a Changing State'' (London, 1993) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussey, Gemma 1938 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Fine Gael TDs Fine Gael senators Independent members of Seanad Éireann Members of Seanad Éireann for the National University of Ireland Members of the 14th Seanad Members of the 15th Seanad 20th-century women members of Seanad Éireann Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála Ministers for Education (Ireland) Ministers for Social Affairs (Ireland) Politicians from County Dublin Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) Women government ministers of the Republic of Ireland People educated at Loreto College, Foxrock