Denis Foley

Denis Foley (born 14 May 1934) is a retired Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the constituency of Kerry North for 18 years, broken by a 3-year stint as a senator.^[1]

A former rates collector,^[1] in the 1970s Foley successful ran the Central Ballroom in Ballybunion and the ballroom of the Brandon Hotel. He also had an interest in the Hillgrove Hotel in Dingle at one stage, and had extensive property holdings in Tralee.^[2]

Foley was a member of Kerry County Council from 1979,^[2] and was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election. He retained his seat through three general elections until his defeat at the 1989 general election^[1] to party rival Tom McEllistrim (who, unlike Foley, was a supporter of the then-leader of Fianna Fáil, Charles Haughey).^[2] He was then elected to the 19th Seanad on the Industrial and Commercial Panel, and regained his Dáil seat at the 1992 general election, holding it until he retired at the 2002 general election.^[3] His daughter, Norma Foley (a member of Tralee Town Council and Kerry County Council) unsuccessfully sought the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the seat in 2002,^[4] but was selected for the 2007 election, when she did not win a seat.^[3]

Following revelations that he had held an offshore account with Ansbacher Bank to avoid tax,^[5] he resigned from Fianna Fáil on 9 February 2000, becoming an independent TD.^[6] He had previously resigned from the Dáil Public Accounts Committee^[7] (on which he had been involved in the questioning of an official of the Ansbacher bank in which he held an undeclared deposit)^[8] and in May 2000 he became the first TD to receive a penalty for breaching the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 when he was suspended from the Dáil for 14 days.^[9]

See also

• Taxation in the Republic of Ireland#Deposit interest retention tax

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Mr. Denis Foley". Oireachtas Members Database. http://oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=19&MemberID=426&ConstID=207. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Miriam Donohoe and Kevin Rafter (28 January 2000). "Little-known deputy owns shops and accommodation". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2000/0128/00012800039.html. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Denis Foley's electoral history". Electionsireland.org. http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3175. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
4. ^ Anne Lucey (25 June 2001). "Foley fails to win Kerry North nomination". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2001/0625/01062500034.html. Retrieved 2008-02-18. 
5. ^ Roddy O'Sullivan (4 February 2000). "Fianna Fáil TD knew about offshore account since the 1980s". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2000/0204/00020400075.html. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
6. ^ "Foley resigns from Fianna Fáil parliamentary party". RTÉ News. 9 February 2000. http://www.rte.ie/news/2000/0209/foley.html. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
7. ^ "Foley's prompt decision to quit has helped ease political fallout". The Irish Times. 28 January 2000. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2000/0128/00012800093.html. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
8. ^ "The eloquence of Mr Foley's silence". The Irish Times. 29 January 2000. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2000/0129/00012900036.html. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
9. ^ "Motion to suspend Foley approved". The Irish Times. 24 May 2000. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2000/0524/00052400039.html. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 

External links

• Irish Times biography

Persondata
Name	Foley, Denis
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	14 May 1934
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death