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–

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area in May 2014. He did not contest the 2019 local elections.

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

See also

References