Ned O'Keeffe (born 1 August 1942) is an Irish former

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who served as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

from 1997 to 2001. He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Cork East constituency from 1982 to 2011. He was a

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

from May 1982 to November 1982, after being

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

Early life

O'Keeffe was born in Ballindangan,

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in the north of County Cork, Ireland with a population of over 3,740. It is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains. Mitchelstown is 13 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Cave, 53 km nor ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, in 1942. He was educated at Darra College,

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

, where he received a diploma in Social and Rural Science. O'Keeffe was a pig farmer before becoming involved in politics.

Political career

Prior to electoral politics, O'Keeffe served as chairman of the County Cork

Irish Farmers' Association The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) (Irish: ''Feirmeoirí Aontaithe na hÉireann'') is a national organisation to represent the interests of all sectors of farming in Ireland. The IFA is Ireland's largest farming representative organisation an ...

executive. In 1982, he was

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

, to the

16th Seanad The 16th Seanad was in office from 1982 to 1983. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the February 1982 general election to the 23rd Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the ...

. He was first elected to the Dáil at the November 1982 general election for Cork East. He retained his seat at each general election until his retirement in 2011. He was also a member of

Cork County Council Cork County Council () is the local authority of County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, as amended. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban pl ...

for the

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

of Mallow from 1985 to 1997. O'Keeffe served in a number of frontbench positions. He was Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Industry from 1982 until 1987. While Fianna Fáil was in government between 1987 and 1994, O'Keeffe remained on the backbenches. Following an incident with

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

political correspondent Una Claffey in the Dáil bar in 1991, O'Keeffe apologised and said he had no option to resign but was persuaded to stay in order to prevent the government losing its majority. When

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, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

became party leader in 1994, O'Keeffe was appointed deputy Spokesperson on Enterprise and Employment, with responsibility for Commerce, Science, Technology and Small Business. After the 1997 general election, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food with responsibility for Food. He resigned as a minister of state in February 2001 after it emerged that he had voted on a Dáil motion without declaring that he had a beneficial interest in the subject matter. On 28 November 2007, O'Keeffe resigned the Fianna Fáil

party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

as he refused to support a

motion of confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the

Minister for Health and Children The Minister for Health () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Health. The Minister for Health is responsible for healthcare in Ireland and related services. The current Minister for Health is Jennifer ...

Mary Harney Mary Harney (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former politician and the former Chancellor of the University of Limerick. She was leader of the Progressive Democrats party between 1993 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008, resuming the role afte ...

. On 26 February 2008, he was re-admitted to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the

2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Member of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent s ...

for the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

constituency. In the pre-election debate on Today FM he voiced his support for the use of

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

and an

incinerator Incineration is a list of solid waste treatment technologies, waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-ene ...

Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee (Ireland), River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational ...

. He retired from politics at the 2011 general election.

Arrest

He was arrested on 27 April 2012, by members of the

Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB; formerly Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation/GBFI) – informally known as the ''Fraud Squad'' – is a specialised division of Ireland's national police force, the Garda Síochána, that investig ...

(GBFI) on suspicion of using a false invoice to claim for mobile phone expenses while he was a member 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 and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

. He was held for a number of hours at

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

Garda station under section 26 of the

Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 The Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 (No. 50 of 2001) updates and consolidates the law relating to dishonesty and fraud in Ireland. The main sections of the statute include: * Theft and Related Offences *Making gain or caus ...

. On the 1 December 2014, O'Keeffe was found guilty of fraudulently claiming in excess of €3,700 in mobile phone usage expenses. He was fined €3,500 and given a 7-month suspended jail sentence for his crime.

Family

O'Keeffe's son, Kevin, was a member of Cork County Council and was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2011 general election. Both Kevin and his other son, Ciarán, a solicitor based in Mitchelstown, sought to be added to the Fianna Fáil party ticket for Cork East in 2015. However, Ciarán later withdrew his attempt. News that they were going head to head surprised party supporters in the constituency and it was seen in some quarters as being a potentially divisive battle which could have undermined the party. Kevin O’Keeffe was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2016 general election. His wife, Anna O'Keeffe, died in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeeffe, Ned 1942 births Living people Alumni of University College Cork Fianna Fáil TDs 20th-century Irish farmers Irish politicians convicted of crimes Members of Cork County Council Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil 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 Ministers of state of the 28th Dáil Politicians convicted of fraud Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators People from Mitchelstown