Jim Walsh (born 5 May 1947) is an Irish former
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
politician and member of
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 ...
between 1997 and 2016.
Early and personal life
Walsh is a native of
New Ross
New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. It is located on the River Barrow, near the border with County Kilkenny, and is around northeast of Waterford. In 2016 it had a population of 8,040 people, making it the ...
,
County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
. Walsh attended New Ross
Christian Brothers School. He is married to Marie Furlong, they have one son and two daughters. Outside of his Seanad duties, he works as a businessman and company director. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Transport, a Senator of
Junior Chamber International and is a former president of the Irish Road Hauliers' Association.
[
]
Political career
He was elected in 1974 to New Ross Town Council
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
, serving as Mayor for nine terms and a member of Wexford County Council
Wexford County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Loch Garman) is the authority responsible for local government in County Wexford, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hous ...
from 1979 to 2004, serving as Mayor from 1992 to 1993. Walsh was National Chairman of the Irish Local Authority Members Association from 1997 to 2002.
In 1997, he was first elected to 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 ...
by the Agricultural Panel
The Agricultural Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators.
Election
Art ...
. From 1997 to 2002, he served as government spokesman on Environment and Local Government in the Seanad. In subsequent terms he served as government spokesperson on Justice, Equality, and Law Reform between 2002 and 2007, and Communications, Energy, and Natural resources from 2007 to 2011. He is the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Trade and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee.
He is a board member of Parliamentarians for Global Action
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of committed legislators, that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians in all regions of the world to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, democr ...
, a New York-based non-governmental organization dealing with peace, democracy, human rights and the rules of law. He is also a member of the (OSCE) as well as being a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and a participant in the International Catholic Legislator's Network since its inauguration.
Walsh has fulfilled a number of international speaking invitations in recent years. In 2011 he was invited to address a conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the Northern Ireland peace process. At the invitation of the Pontifical Council for the Family he read a paper on the topic of "The Family" at the World Meeting of Families in Milan, May 2012. At the PGA Conference in Bogota, Colombia, December 2013 he addressed the subject of "Disarmament and Decommissioning- The Northern Ireland Experience and its Relevance for Colombia.
Tribunals
In April 2008, Walsh claimed "that Chairmen of some of the tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.
For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...
s used their position in order to act more or less as shop stewards
A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...
for the wealthy legal profession
Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education.
It is difficult t ...
". He later withdrew the comment, acknowledging that he may have caused offence.
Civil partnership legislation
On 24 April 2008, Walsh put forward a party motion
In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...
to counter the proposed same-sex Civil Partnership Bill
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by the Labour government, which grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom the rights and responsibilities very similar to those in civil ...
. ''The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' reported that around 30 unidentified Fianna Fáil backbencher
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
s had signed the motion. One anonymous Senator was quoted as claiming that the motion "would have considerable support from the more conservative sections of the parliamentary party
A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council.
Parliame ...
". The 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 ...
, Brian Cowen
Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011.
Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...
, responded by insisting that the registration of same-sex couples would not interfere with the constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
status of marriage. Cowen noted that the Bill had been drawn up in close consultation with the Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
and had been included in the programme for government.
The motion was referred to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party's justice committee on 1 July 2008. Despite the challenge to the Bill, a Fianna Fáil spokesperson was quoted as saying that there was "broad support" within the party for the legislation, while the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern
Dermot Christopher Ahern (born 20 April 1955) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice and Law Reform from 2008 to 2011, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2008, Minister for Communications, Marine a ...
reaffirmed the constitutional compatibility of the proposed law.
Walsh has repeatedly called for a ''freedom of conscience'' amendment to the legislation which would by-pass equality legislation, allowing people a religious exemption in providing goods and services to gay couples.
In the 2014 "Pantigate" controversy in which the national broadcaster 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 ...
paid a purported €85,000 to conservative commentators, Walsh argued that some proponents of same-sex marriage were "dangerous and vicious".
On 31 March 2015, he said in the Seanad that he could not support same-sex marriage and that the money spent on the marriage equality referendum would be better spent on testing the gay community for HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
.
Views
In November 2009, Walsh claimed that women working outside the home is a major cause of depression in young people, and also expressed annoyance that " David Norris could describe gay people as 'fairies' – while he could not".
On 7 July 2010, he resigned the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
, along with Labhrás Ó Murchú and John Hanafin
John Gerard Hanafin (born 27 September 1960) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who was a member of Seanad Éireann from 2002 to 2011. He was elected by the Labour Panel. Hanafin is the brother of the former cabinet minister Mary Hanafin ...
, in protest at the Civil Partnership bill. He rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 23 November 2010.
On 16 July 2013, Walsh opposed the '' Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill'', and during the Seanad debate quoted an anti-abortion pamphlet's description of dilation and evacuation
Dilation and evacuation (D&E) is the dilation of the cervix and surgical evacuation of the uterus (potentially including the fetus, placenta and other tissue) after the first trimester of pregnancy. It is a method of abortion as well as a common ...
, which the bill's supporters criticised as inappropriate.
In December 2015, in an abortion-related debate, Walsh told Senator Ivana Bacik
Ivana Catherine Bacik (born 25 May 1968) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Leader of the Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency since winning a by-election on 9 July 2 ...
that she should seek "treatment for hemorrhoids".
In January 2016, he was re-admitted to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party. He did not contest the 2016 Seanad election.
Wikipedia editing
In September 2015, Walsh admitted editing his own Wikipedia entry, claiming it had been edited by "a person from the gay lobby groups". He said that he had removed "certain erroneous comments" but did not say which edits he made or what was erroneous.[ T.J. McIntyre, a law lecturer 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 ...
drew attention to edits made from an IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
belonging to 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 ...
.[ Edits made from that address included removal of controversial comments made by the former senator about gay people and the Marriage Equality referendum.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Jim
1947 births
Living people
Conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia
Fianna Fáil senators
Irish farmers
Local councillors in County Wexford
Members of the 21st Seanad
Members of the 22nd Seanad
Members of the 23rd Seanad
Members of the 24th Seanad
Independent members of Seanad Éireann