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Ged Nash

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Ged Nash
TD
Nash in 2020
Minister of State
2014–2016Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 2020
In office
February 2011 – February 2016
ConstituencyLouth
Senator
In office
8 June 2016 – 8 February 2020
ConstituencyLabour Panel
Personal details
Born
Gerald Henry Nash

(1975-12-07) 7 December 1975 (age 48)
Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland
Political partyLabour Party
Alma materUniversity College Dublin

Gerald Henry Nash (born 7 December 1975) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Louth constituency since 2020, and previously from 2011 to 2016.

Nash became a member of Drogheda Borough Council in 2000 and Louth County Council in 2002, serving on both until his election to the Dáil in 2011. He served as Minister of State for Business and Employment from 2014 to 2016. After losing his seat at the 2016 general election, Nash was elected to the Seanad and was a Senator for the Labour Panel from 2016 to 2020. He was re-elected to the Dáil in 2020.

Early life

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Nash was born on 7 December 1975. His father was a union representative in a factory and active in the Labour Party.[1] He attended St. Joseph's CBS, Drogheda and graduated with a bachelor's degree in politics and history from University College Dublin.[2]

Before entering politics, Nash was a public relations consultant to trade unions and the not-for-profit sector, running the PR firm McCormack Nash in Drogheda.[3] He also worked as the manager of the Upstate Theatre Project company in Drogheda,[3] as a teacher in St. Oliver's Community College in Drogheda[4] and as an advisor to Nessa Childers during her tenure in the European Parliament.[5]

Political career

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Nash joined the Labour Party as a student in University College Dublin.[3] He is a former National Secretary of Labour Youth.[6] During the 2002 referendum on the Treaty of Nice, Nash was part of Drogheda Young Alliance for Yes, an interparty group which called for a "Yes" vote.[7]

Councillor and mayor of Drogheda (2000–2011)

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Nash was co-opted onto Drogheda Borough Council in 2000 to replace retiring councillor Patsy Kirwan,[3] and served on the council until 2011. He was a member of Louth County Council for the local electoral area of Drogheda from 2002 to 2011,[8][9] serving as mayor of Drogheda from 2004 to 2005.[8][10]

Nash contested the 2007 general election in the Louth constituency but was not elected, receiving 2,739 votes (4.98% of the vote).[11]

Dáil Éireann (2011–2016)

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He was elected as a Labour Party TD for the Louth constituency at the 2011 general election.[12][13] He lost his seat at the 2016 general election.[8]

Minister of State

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In July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, with responsibility for small and medium business, collective bargaining and low pay commission.[14][15][16] He attended cabinet meetings as a non-voting member, a position described as a Super Junior Minister.[17]

While a Minister of State, Nash commissioned the first major independent study of zero and low-hour contracts in the Irish labour market. The research was carried out by the University of Limerick and published in November 2015.[18]

Seanad Éireann (2016–2020)

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In April 2016, Nash was elected to Seanad Éireann on the Labour Panel. Party leader Brendan Howlin appointed him as Labour Party Spokesperson on Equality, and Labour Affairs and Workers Rights.[19] As of October 2023, Nash is Labour's party spokesperson on finance.[20]

In 2018, Nash put forward a bill to issue an apology to men who had been convicted of homosexual offences prior to its decriminalisation in 1993. The motion received all-party support, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivered an apology to the Dáil later that year.[21][22] Nash put forward a bill in 2019 which aimed to provide greater protection for low paid workers, reform Joint Labour Committees and give the Labour Court the ability to set rates of pay above the minimum wage in low paid sectors of the economy.[23]

Return to Dáil (2020–)

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Nash was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2020 general election,[24] with Simon Carswell of The Irish Times attributing his election to "four years of local campaigning on issues such as fighting gangland crime and improving Drogheda’s water infrastructure".[17]

After Brendan Howlin announced his intention to step down as leader of the Labour Party, Nash was considered a potential candidate for the party leadership race.[25] However, he ruled himself out shortly afterwards, saying "There is a responsibility on my local Dáil colleagues and I to work night and day both locally and nationally to fix them. This is where my immediate focus must lie".[25] Nash nominated Aodhán Ó Ríordáin for the position of leader.[26]

Personal life

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Nash is a director of Drogheda Youth Development, the Calipo Theatre and Picture Company, a Member of Board of the Droichead Arts Centre, a member of Drogheda Rotary Club and a former member of Louth VEC.[2]

Nash has Crohn's disease, which he was diagnosed with in 1990,[27] and has spoken about being bullied as a teenager for it.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Political Platform Ged Nash TD". Eolas Magazine. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Senator Ged Nash TD - Biography". The Labour Party. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Comyn, Allison (16 February 2011). "Nash hopes to win back Bell seat for Drogheda and Labour". Irish Independent.
  4. ^ "Mayor to give youth lectures". Irish Independent. 14 January 2005. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Gerald Nash". Independent.ie. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  6. ^ Ryan, Conor (28 February 2011). "Labour learns strategy lesson to take most seats in party's history". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Youth put old differences aside in a push for Yes". Independent.ie. 10 October 2002. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Gerald Nash". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Warm Louth Council welcome for Gerald Nash". Independent.ie. 13 December 2002. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Gerald Nash". Labour Party. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  11. ^ "30th Dail - Louth First Preference Votes". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Gerald Nash". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Labour TD Gerald Nash recalls being bullied after diagnosis of Crohn's disease". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  14. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2014 (62): 1172. 5 August 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  15. ^ Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2014 (S.I. No. 545 of 2014). Signed on 25 November 2014. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 April 2021.; Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2015 (S.I. No. 426 of 2015). Signed on 6 October 2015. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 April 2021.
  16. ^ "No changes for Noonan and Howlin in reshuffle". RTÉ News. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Election 2020: Gerald Nash (Labour)". The Irish Times. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Minister Nash publishes Government commissioned report on Zero Hour Contracts by University of Limerick". Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. 3 November 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  19. ^ Brophy, Daragh (8 June 2016). "It's no longer Alan Kelly's job to talk about Irish Water". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  20. ^ McNally, Tadgh (5 October 2023). "A €9 monthly transport ticket among Labour's budget proposals". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  21. ^ Halpin, Hayley (24 June 2018). "Here's a short history of the battle for LGBT rights in Ireland". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  22. ^ Quinn, Trevor (19 June 2018). "Leo Varadkar apologises to people convicted of homosexual activity". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  23. ^ Kenny, Aisling (21 November 2019). "Bill aims to reform how wages are set in low paid sectors". RTE.ie. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  24. ^ "Louth results:Labour's Ged Nash wins back seat lost in 2016". Irish Times. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  25. ^ a b McNeice, Stephen. "Labour's Ged Nash rules himself out of party leadership race". Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  26. ^ Hurley, Sandra (21 February 2020). "Ó Ríordáin launches bid for leadership of Labour Party". RTE.ie. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Louth TD speaks about living with Crohn's disease". Dundalk Democrat. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
2014–2016
With: Damien English 		Succeeded by
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