Niamh Bhreathnach

Niamh Bhreathnach (born 1 June 1945) is an Irish Labour Party politician. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dún Laoghaire from 1992 until 1997, and served as Minister for Education from 1993 until 1997.^[1] She holds the distinction of being one of only five TDs to be appointed Minister on their first day in the Dáil.

Bhreathnach was born in Dublin in 1945, the daughter of Breandán Breathnach, a civil servant and highly-regarded collector of Irish Music. Educated at Sion Hill and at Froebel Teacher Training College, Dublin, she later qualified as a remedial teacher. Bhreathnach was chairwoman of the Labour Party from 1990 until 1993. She was elected as a Labour Party TD for the first time at the 1992 general election, serving until her defeat at the 1997. In 1993 she became Minister for Education in the Fianna Fáil-Labour Party coalition. She remained in that post during the "Rainbow Coalition" until 1997. During this time tuition fees for third-level institutions were abolished, and perhaps her most lasting achievement was the upgrading of the WRTC/Waterford Institute of Technology.

After losing her Dáil seat in 1997, Bhreathnach was nominated by the outgoing Taoiseach, John Bruton, to the last days of the 20th Seanad.^[2] She sought a nomination from the Labour Party for the elections to the 21st Seanad, and there was some surprise when she was not one of the five candidates nominated by the party. She did not seek a nomination from the nominating bodies.^[3]

She stood again for the Dáil at the 2002 general election, but did not regain her seat, and did not contest the 2007 election. She is still a member of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Mrs. Niamh Bhreathnach". Oireachtas Members Database. http://oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=20&MemberID=1867&ConstID=210. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
2. ^ "Five chosen for vacancies in Seanad". The Irish Times. 14 June 1997. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/1997/0614/97061400041.html. Retrieved 2008-02-20. .
3. ^ Michael O'Regan (19 June 1997). "Breathnach drops Seanad ambition". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/1997/0619/97061900004.html. Retrieved 2009-03-07. 
4. ^ "Niamh Bhreathnach's electoral history". ElectionsIreland.org. http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=278. Retrieved 2008-02-20. 

Political offices
Preceded by Séamus Brennan	Minister for Education 1993–1994	Succeeded by Michael Smith
Preceded by Michael Smith	Minister for Education 1994–1997	Succeeded by Micheál Martin

Persondata
Name	Bhreathnach, Niamh
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Date of birth	1945-06-01
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