Seán Power (born 14 October 1960) is an Irish former
Fianna Fáil politician. He was a
Teachta Dála (TD) for the
Kildare South constituency.
Power was born in
Caragh, near
Naas in
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
and was educated locally at the
Christian Brothers School in Naas. His father
Paddy Power was a TD,
MEP MEP may refer to:
Organisations and politics
* Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka
* Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka
* Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...
and cabinet minister. His brother, J.J. Power is a former
Green Party member of
Kildare County Council.
He 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 read ...
at the
1989 general election, as a Fianna Fáil TD for the
Kildare constituency, retaining his father's seat. He was re-elected at 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2007 general elections.
He was a member of Kildare County Council from 1999 to 2004
In 1991, Power was a key member of the so-called "gang of four" which proposed a
motion of no confidence in the
Taoiseach, and the leader of his party,
Charles Haughey. The other members of the group were
Noel Dempsey,
Liam Fitzgerald and
M. J. Nolan
M. J. Nolan (born 25 January 1951) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny (Dáil constituency), Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 1982 to 1997 and 2002 to 2011. He also served as ...
. That incident led to
Albert Reynolds's first bid for the leadership and to Haughey's eventual resignation in 1992. When Reynolds eventually became Taoiseach, Power was appointed Assistant
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
...
. He served as a member of the Joint Committees on European Affairs and on the Environment and Local Government.
In
Bertie Ahern's 2004 reshuffle, Power was appointed as
Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for Health Promotion. After the
2007 general election he was appointed as
Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform with special responsibility for Equality.
On 13 May 2008, shortly after
Brian Cowen became
Taoiseach, he was appointed as
Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with special responsibility for Information Society and Natural Resources. He served in this position until April 2009 when he was dropped in a reshuffle where the number of junior ministers was reduced from 20 to 15.
He lost his seat at the
2011 general election.
[ He was elected to Kildare County Council for the Kildare–]Newbridge Newbridge may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Newbridge, New South Wales
*Newbridge, Victoria
* Newbridge Heights Public School
England
* Newbridge, Bath, electoral ward
*Newbridge, Cornwall, three places in Cornwall with the same name
* Newbridge, ...
area in May 2014. He did not contest the 2019 local elections.
See also
* Families in the Oireachtas
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Sean
1960 births
Living people
Fianna Fáil TDs
Members of Kildare County Council
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 29th Dáil
Ministers of State of the 30th Dáil
Politicians from County Kildare
People from Naas