Andrew Doyle (born 2 July 1960) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency from 2007 to 2020.[1] He served as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine from 2016 to 2020.
Andrew Doyle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of State | |
| 2016–2020 | Agriculture, Food and the Marine |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office May 2007 – February 2020 | |
| Constituency | Wicklow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 July 1960 Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Fine Gael |
| Spouse |
Ann Smith (m. 1988) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Rockwell Agricultural College |
Early life and education
editDoyle graduated from Rockwell Agricultural College, in County Tipperary, in 1978, and as a young farmer in 1981, he won the Stephen Cullinane Scholarship to New Zealand, where he played rugby in Canterbury.
Personal life
editDoyle runs the family farm in County Wicklow, which has been in his family for six generations.[2] He is married to Ann Smith and they have three sons and one daughter.
Politics
editHe has been a member of Fine Gael since 1983, and first sought election to Wicklow County Council in the East Wicklow local electoral area, where he served from 1999 to 2007, and was chairman of the council from 2005 to 2006.[3] He was elected to the Dáil, on his first attempt at the 2007 general election. During his first term in the Dáil, he was party Spokesperson on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from July 2010 to March 2011, having previously served as deputy Spokesperson on Agriculture, with special responsibility for Food and Horticulture from 2007 to 2010.[4] He was re-elected to the 31st Dáil at the 2011 general election, topping the poll in the constituency,[3] and was elected for the third time at the 2016 general election.
Doyle introduced two private member's bills in the Dáil. He introduced the Food (Fair Trade and Information) Bill 2009 to provide in the interests of the common good for the prohibition of activities which prevent, restrict or distort fair trade in grocery goods in the State.[5] He also introduced the Electoral (Amendment) (Hours of Polling) Bill 2013,[6] to set voting hours for Dáil elections, Dáil by-elections, Presidential elections, European Parliament elections, Local Government elections and Referendums. Neither bill was enacted.
As chairperson of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food, and the Marine,[7] he also produced the first parliamentary report on the Offshore Oil and Gas sector in 2012, which called for a new fiscal licensing regime in Offshore Oil and Gas exploration off the coast of Ireland.[8] As part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013, he hosted a conference in Dublin Castle with EU member states Parliamentary Agriculture Committee Chairs from all 27 countries, engaging parliamentarians with speakers such as the European Commissioner for Agriculture, and then Romanian Prime Minister, Dacian Cioloș and the European Commissioner for Fisheries, Maria Damanaki.[9]
In the 2016 general election, Doyle won the fourth seat in Wicklow. On 19 May 2016, he was appointed by the minority Fine Gael–Independent government on the nomination of Taoiseach Enda Kenny as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Food, Forestry and Horticulture.[10][11] He was appointed to the same position on 20 June 2017 when Leo Varadkar formed a new government after succeeding Kenny as Fine Gael leader.[12][13]
He lost his seat at the general election on 8 February 2020,[14][15] and continued to serve as a minister of state until the formation of a new government on 27 June 2020.
References
edit- ^ "Andrew Doyle". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
- ^ "Andrew Doyle TD". Fine Gael. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Andrew Doyle". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ "Bruton & Noonan return to Fine Gael frontbench". RTÉ News. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- ^ Food (Fair Trade and Information) Bill 2009 (Bill no. 73 of 2009). Retrieved 23 December 2020, Houses of the Oireachtas.
- ^ Electoral (Amendment) (Hours of Polling) Bill 2013 (Bill no. 95 of 2013). Retrieved 23 December 2020, Houses of the Oireachtas.
- ^ "Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine – Membership". Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Houses of the Oireachtas". Media Zone – Press Releases. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union – Parliamentary Dimension". Meeting of Chairpersons of Agriculture and Fisheries Committees of EU Member States and the European Parliaments. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – Thursday, 19 May 2016". Houses of the Oireachtas. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 580 of 2016). Signed on 29 November 2016. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Appointment of Members of Government and Ministers of State – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) – Tuesday, 20 June 2017". Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 456 of 2017). Signed on 17 October 2017. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 March 2021.
- ^ O'Brien, Carl (10 February 2020) [9 February 2020]. "Wicklow results: Minister for Health Simon Harris re-elected". The Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ "Election 2020: Wicklow". The Irish Times. Dublin. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.