Michael Fitzmaurice (born 18 September 1969) is an Irish

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 ...

politician who has been 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 Roscommon–Galway constituency since the 2016 general election, and previously from 2014 to 2016 for the Roscommon–South Leitrim constituency. Before becoming a politician, Fitzmaurice used to run an agricultural and

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

contracting business. He is the chair of the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association.

Political career

He was elected to

Galway County Council Galway County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in County Galway, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...

for the

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

local electoral area following the local elections held in May 2014. He entered national politics in a by-election caused by the election of

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (born 22 January 1972) is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Midlands–North-West constituency since 2014. He is an Independent, but sits in parliament with The ...

to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. He was endorsed by Flanagan. He was a founding member of the Independent Alliance, which was formed in 2015. On 18 May 2016, Fitzmaurice, was the only Independent Alliance TD to vote against

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 ...

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. He later announced that day he was leaving the group and would not join the government.

Policies

Fitzmaurice is in favour of cutting "turf" (peat).

Turbary Turbary is the ancient right to cut turf, or peat, for fuel on a particular area of bog. The word may also be used to describe the associated piece of bog or peatland and, by extension, the material extracted from the turbary. Turbary rights, whic ...

rights have been affected by the

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

, which has resulted in the protection of some

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

s in Ireland since the 1990s. As at the end of 2018 protection of some bogs as

Special Areas of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

remains in force, but Fitzmaurice and other politicians have succeeded in removing protection from some bogs designated as

Natural Heritage Area Natural Heritage Area () is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in Ireland. The Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 makes legal provision for the designation and protection of a national network of Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs). The de ...

s under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000. He supports

water meters Water metering is the practice of measuring water use. Water meters measure the volume of water used by residential and commercial building units that are supplied with water by a public water supply system. They are also used to determine flo ...

, although he thinks some usage should be free to consumers. Fitzmaurice is a critic of

environmental vegetarianism Environmental vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism when motivated by the desire to create a sustainable diet that avoids the negative environmental impact of meat production. Livestock as a whole is estimated to be responsible for aro ...

. Defending Irish livestock farmers, he criticised the former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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for advocating reduced meat and dairy consumption so that people have a lower

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

. Along with several other TDs, he later criticised Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...

for comments about trying to reduce his consumption of meat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzmaurice, Michael 1969 births Living people Local councillors in County Galway Independent TDs Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil