[7], She remained on the backbenches of the Dáil for the first thirteen years of her career as a TD, before being appointed a junior Minister. [16], Coughlan received criticism for changes she made regarding the availability of rent supplement. In March 2004, she introduced the Social Welfare Amendment Act 2004 in response to a case involving same-sex partner benefits. Review: RIFF-it. Former Tanaiste Mary Coughlan broke down in tears as she bid an emotional farewell to her husband at his funeral yesterday. ", "Has Calamity Coughlan let an election secret out of the bag? He died of cancer in 2012. Later, it was discovered that Mr Molloy had received a payoff of €1 million and the retention of his company car, destroying the earlier view of a tough line being taken by Coughlan, who approved the payment without reference to either the Cabinet or official guidelines. The appointment of the TD for Donegal South West was regarded as the biggest surprise in the cabinet reshuffle by the new taoiseach Brian Cowen. [17][18] She was also widely criticised for cuts she made as Minister to entitlements for widows and widowers after the death of a spouse. [50][51] McGuinness' credibility was subsequently undermined when it was revealed that he had hired external PR advice in an effort to undermine Coughlan and enhance his own profile as a Minister of State within her Department. Background. [35], Coughlan announced a third change in the budgetary position, in her local constituency, prior to Cabinet agreement and five days before the responsible Minister for Social and Family Affairs announced it to the nation, via RTÉ Radio. [58] One of Coughlan's first initiatives in the portfolio was to voice her support for the introduction of a CAO points bonus for students studying higher level maths. [14], After the 2002 general election Coughlan was promoted to the cabinet as Minister for Social and Family Affairs. [37], The 2008 fall in the value of sterling against the euro saw the price gap between North and South widen and shoppers cross to Northern Ireland to the detriment of businesses in the South. The cuts were part of a wider drive for a reduction in government spending in autumn 2002. Donegal TD Mary Coughlan has been named as the Republic of Ireland's deputy prime minister or tánaiste. [11] She also oversaw the coming-into-force of an amended Gaeltacht Housing Act, updating the supports available for Irish-speaking households building in or moving to the Gaeltacht. It's up to Tesco, it's up to Superquinn, it's up to Aldi, it's up to Lidl; it's up to them to cut their prices. [25], Coughlan was re-appointed to the portfolio on 14 June 2007 following the 2007 general election, with the additional responsibility of fisheries as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. 4 "The first thing I thought was 'God, I wonder how Charlie is doing?' ‘From my understanding I’m the third youngest Fianna Fail TD ever elected and the youngest TD elected since the 1980s, I think Mary Coughlan, the previous Tanaiste, was the last TD that was actually younger than me elected to the house. [62] The Guardian newspaper described it as "Ireland's Portillo moment". Before that she was briefly a social worker, a caring profession, a womanly profession. She was the eldest of five and had endured an erratic youth. In 1987 Mary Coughlan became the youngest TD in the history of the Irish State … [45][46], Coughlan was accused by an opposition spokesperson of being unable to debate exchequer figures. Farmers and others were critical of the decision. Mallow, Ireland’s last sugar factory to remain open, closed on 12 May 2006,[23] after operating for 77 years. [12] The Commission on Irish in the Gaeltacht (Comisiún na Gaeltachta) also completed its work under her guidance and Coughlan saw its report approved and published. The early start to Coughlan's political career sprang out of two family tragedies, when her TD uncle, Clem, was killed in a car crash in 1984, and his successor, her father Cathal, died suddenly in 1986. [15] She established the Family Support Agency with a mandate to support families, promote stability in family life, prevent marital breakdown and foster a supportive community environment for families at a local level. She was promoted to cabinet as Minister for Social and Family Affairs in 2002, and later held the senior post at Agriculture; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Education and Science; and Health and Children. [31], Responding to a row over medical cards she displayed insufficient mathematical skill, saying "Of the savings of €100 million, €86 million is for GPs and €30 million is for pharmacists". DUBLIN, Ireland – October 2, 2008 –Tanáiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment, Mary Coughlan TD announced today (2 October 2008) that Facebook, the world’s leading social networking site, is to establish its international headquarters in Dublin. [19], During her time in this role the country's last two remaining sugar factories, owned by Greencore, were closed. On 23 March 2010, following a cabinet reshuffle, she was moved to the newly named Department of Education and Skills, while retaining the position of Tánaiste. She topped the poll, winning a seat on the first count. Leinster House played another important role in her life, as it was there she met David Charlton, a Garda who was on duty at the time. ", "Coughlan's no Einstein after gaffe at 'smart economy' launch", "Minister for Education backs maths bonus points", "31st Dáil – Donegal South-West First Preference Votes", "Coughlan loses seat as Fine Gael move closer to Government", "After Fianna Fáil: a new Ireland takes shape", "Irish Rail denies bias in travel pass row", "Irish Rail enforce ban on same-sex couples", "Govt accused of bid to withdraw gay rights", "Volume 582 – 11 March 2004 – Order of Business", "Coughlan accused of discriminating against gay couples", "Irish official vows never on gay marriage, adoption", "Mary Coughlan's husband dies of cancer at age 48", "There is just no place like home for Tánaiste Mary", Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Coughlan_(politician)&oldid=990684127, Women government ministers of the Republic of Ireland, Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Articles with dead external links from December 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, All Wikipedia articles written in Hiberno-English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 November 2020, at 22:50. Singer Mary Coughlan performs on stage at the Irish Redhead Convention which celebrates everything to do with … His niece, Mary Coughlan was also a TD and Minister. Her time in Social and Family Affairs saw increases in social welfare payments and the extension of family supports. She worked as a social worker for a brief period before becoming involved in politics. [8], Mary Coughlan was married to David Charlton, a Garda who lost a leg in a serious car accident a few years after they were married, from 1991 until his death from cancer on 2 September 2012. [9], In February 2001, Coughlan received her first ministerial position, that of Minister of State (Junior Minister) at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (with responsibility for the Gaeltacht and Islands). As sugar beet growers now had nowhere to sell their sugar beet, cultivation of the crop ceased in Ireland. Coughlan's brother, Cathal Coughlan, was elected in the subsequent by-election. Minister Mary Coughlan TD launches Awareness Week The Pensions Board warns against starting a pension too late. President Ms Mary COUGHLAN, TD Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mr Frank FAHEY, TD Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (with special responsibility for Labour Affairs including Training) Mr Willie O'DEA, TD Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform (with special responsibility for Equality Issues including Disability Issues) Mr Micheál … Coughlan was born in Donegal town in the south of County Donegal in 1965. [26], Throughout her time in this ministry, Coughlan was involved in ongoing WTO trade talks.[27]. And neither is the department". Former members include former European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, previous ministers Dick Roche and Mary Coughlan, Clare TD Timmy Dooley, Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue and RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy. [70], During her time in Social and Family Affairs, Coughlan produced a report discussing new definitions of 'the family' which recommended a more progressive approach to the matter. Highlight. She also strengthened the powers of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to enforce company law provisions. The Minster for Social and Family Affairs Mary Coughlan TD has approved funding of €21,500 for the National Adult Literacy Agency’s ‘International Literacy Day Conference 2002’. I worked with him in Dublin helping him to write speeches or anything else he needed help with.". Mr Ahern later complained that Ms Coughlan "bad-mouthed" him behind his back in his final days as Taoiseach, while remaining "nice" to his face. [52], In April 2009, she denied there would be a supplementary budget – one was announced five days later – also claiming that the public finances were under control at the same time. Mary Coughlan celebrating her appointment as Minister for Agriculture in 2004. She was also involved in resolving[21] a dispute over payments with the country’s dentists. This influenced the Government's 2008 civil union legislation. [28] Over a period of four days Coughlan stated that the EU's larger nations still had two Commissioners each. [13] In addition, during her tenure Coughlan oversaw significant investment in island infrastructure and in the connection of islands to the national electricity grid, including Inishbofin Island, off the County Donegal coast, which was connected for the first time in 2002 by using an underwater cable from the mainland. Minister for Education and Skills (2010 - 2011) Tánaiste (2008 - 2011) Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (2008 - 2010) Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (2007 - 2008) Shortly after her re-appointment Coughlan had to put in place measures to deal with the threat of the potential spread of foot-and-mouth disease from Britain in early August 2007. Most recent appearances in parliament . 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