Thomas Broughan (born 1 August 1947) is a former Irish
Independent politician who served as a
Teachta Dála (TD) from 1992 to 2020.
He sat as a TD for the
Labour Party until late 2011, representing the
Dublin North-East constituency from 1992 until constituency changes for the
2016 general election.
Early life
Broughan was born in
Dublin in 1947. He was educated at
Moyle Park College,
Clondalkin
Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondal ...
,
University College Dublin and
University of London. He worked as a teacher at
St. Aidan's CBS,
Whitehall, before entering politics in 1991, when he was elected to
Dublin City Council.
Labour Party
The following year, Broughan 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 reads: ...
at the
1992 general election to the
27th Dáil
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...
as a
Labour Party TD for Dublin North-East. He retained his seat at the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...
,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
,
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
and
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh c ...
general elections.
Broughan previously served as Labour Party Spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Communications, Energy and Natural Resources; and Transport.
Broughan was regarded as being on the
left-wing of the Labour Party. He first lost the party whip in 1994, during the
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 ...
-Labour Party coalition when he disagreed with the government decision to sell Team Aer Lingus, but he returned when that coalition collapsed at the end of 1994.
During
Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte (born 18 May 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and a Minister of State from 19 ...
's leadership of the Labour party from 2002 to 2007, Broughan was a leading critic of Rabbitte's decision to form an electoral alliance with
Fine Gael, instead advocating an independent strategy for the party, in addition to closer co-operation with the
Green Party and
Sinn Féin.
He had the Labour parliamentary party whip withdrawn on 29 June 2010, for failing to attend a vote on the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2010 in the Dáil. He along with fellow TD
Joanna Tuffy
Joanna Tuffy (born 9 March 1965) is an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Mid-West constituency 2007 to 2016. She was a Senator for the Administrative Panel from 2002 to 2007.
Early life
Born in ...
both opposed the Labour Party going into coalition with Fine Gael in the aftermath of the
2011 general election.
During the
31st Dáil
31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number.
In mathematics
31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...
, he became increasingly critical of a number of government policies. In November 2011, he criticised Transport Minister
Leo Varadkar's decision to defer the
Dublin Metro
MetroLink is a proposed metro line for the city of Dublin. It was first recommended in the then Irish Government's 2005 Transport 21 transport plan.
The sole line is proposed to run from Estuary on Dublin's northside to Charlemont on the south ...
, claiming it would have been a "huge boost" to economic growth and employment in the Dublin/Mid-Leinster region. He lost the parliamentary Labour 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 ...
after voting to reject a government amendment to extend the bank guarantee for another year on 1 December 2011. This was his third time to lose the Labour whip, having previously done so in 1994 and 2010. He stated he could not support adding more debt and called on Labour party TDs to join him on the opposition benches to oppose elements of the Government's economic policy.
Social Democratic Union
In April 2014, it was reported that Broughan had left the Labour Party, was forming a "Social Democratic Union" for his constituency supporters, and hoped like-minded Independent TDs would join.
The group is unconnected to the
Social Democrats, formed by Broughan's former Labour Party colleague
Róisín Shortall
Róisín Shortall (born 25 April 1954) is an Irish Social Democrats politician who has been joint leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency since 1992. She previousl ...
along with two other Independent TDs. Broughan has ruled himself out of joining the new party stating he planned to remain an Independent deputy. As of July 2015, the Social Democratic Union remains unregistered.
2016 general election
At the
2016 general election, he stood as an
Independents 4 Change candidate in the
Dublin Bay North constituency. He was re-elected to the Dáil. He voted for
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett (born 6 February 1967) is an Irish People Before Profit/Solidarity politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since the 2011 general election. Boyd Barrett is a former member of Dún ...
for
Taoiseach when the
32nd Dáil first met.
Broughan left the party on 26 July 2016.
[
On 22 January 2020, he announced that he would not be contesting the 2020 general election.]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broughan, Tommy
1947 births
Living people
Alumni of University College Dublin
Alumni of the University of London
Independent TDs
Irish schoolteachers
Labour Party (Ireland) TDs
Local councillors in Dublin (city)
Members of the 27th Dáil
Members of the 28th Dáil
Members of the 29th Dáil
Members of the 30th Dáil
Members of the 31st Dáil
Members of the 32nd Dáil
Politicians from County Dublin
Independents 4 Change TDs