Mary Wallace (born 13 June 1959) 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 Christia ...

politician. 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 Meath and Meath East constituencies from 1989 to 2011.

Early life

Wallace was born in

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

in 1959. She was educated at the Loreto Convents in Balbriggan and North Great Georges Street, Dublin and the College of Commerce,

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

where she received a diploma in Hospital and Health Services Administration. Following this she went on to work as a Personnel Executive in

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest u ...

Hospital.

Political career

Wallace first held political office in 1982 when she was elected to

Meath County Council Meath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Mí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Meath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...

. She served on that authority until 1997. In 1987 she was elected to the 18th Seanad Éireann on the

Administrative Panel The Administrative 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 Administrative Panel elects seven senators. Election ...

, having failed to get elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election. She was successful at the 1989 general election and was elected for the Meath constituency. She retained her seat at each subsequent election, moving to the new Meath East constituency for the 2007 general election. Wallace remained on the backbenches until 1995 when she became Opposition Spokesperson for people with disabilities and carers. When

came to office in 1997 under

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 ...

, she was appointed as Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform with responsibility for equality and disabilities. The Disability Bill she was piloting through the Dáil was withdrawn and she was not re-appointed after the 2002 general election. In February 2006, Wallace rejoined the junior ministerial team as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food with special responsibility for Forestry. Her promotion caused some surprise as Seán Haughey had been the front-runner for promotion, while Wallace's name had not even been mentioned. She was reappointed to the same responsibility the following year on the formation of a new government. In May 2008, after

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 ...

succeeded Ahern as Taoiseach, she was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for Health Promotion and Food Safety. She lost her position as Minister of State in a reshuffle on 21 April 2009, when Cowen reduced the number of Ministers of State from 20 to 15. She retired from politics at the 2011 general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Mary 1959 births Living people Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Fianna Fáil TDs Local councillors in County Meath Members of the 18th Seanad 20th-century women members of Seanad Éireann Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Ministers of State of the 28th Dáil Ministers of State of the 29th Dáil Ministers of State of the 30th Dáil Politicians from County Dublin Fianna Fáil senators Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland