- Emmet Stagg
Emmet Stagg (born 1 October 1944) is an Irish Labour Party politician. He is currently a
Teachta Dála (TD) for Kildare North and Labour PartyChief Whip and Spokesperson for Nuclear Safety.Emmet Stagg was born at
Hollymount ,County Mayo and educated atBallinrobe C.B.S. and Kevin Street College of Technology. Stagg was formerly a Medical Technologist atTrinity College Dublin before entering into full-time politics. In 1979 he was elected to Kildare County Council, serving almost continually until 2003. Stagg was first elected toDáil Éireann in the 1987 General Election. Since then he has served as Front Bench Spokesperson on a number of areas, including Agriculture (1987-1989) and Social Welfare 1989-1992).During the 1980s and early 1990s, Stagg was a prominent figure within the internal politics of the Labour Party, being viewed as one of the leaders of the left-wing faction within the party opposed to coalition with
Fine Gael , and as a prominent opponent of the then party leaderDick Spring . In theFianna Fáil -Labour coalition government formed after the 1992 general election, he became Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, with Special Responsibility for Housing and Urban Renewal.While holding this position he became the subject of a major
tabloid press scandal after Gardaí found him loitering in an area of Dublin'Phoenix Park used by male prostitutes. Stagg was questioned by the Gardaí but no charges were filed against him. [cite news |url=http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opinion/2006/0126/1137626804794.html |title=An Irishman's Diary |author=Kevin Myers |work=The Irish Times |date=26 January 2006 |accessdate=2008-01-03 |quote=the real turning point in Ireland came when government minister Emmet Stagg was not summarily sacked after coming to Garda attention while loitering in an area of the Phoenix Park used by male prostitutes] [cite news |url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2001/09/25/story13434.asp |title=Labour is taken to book |author=John Downing |work=The Irish Examiner |date=25 September 2005 |accessdate=2008-01-03 |quote=the controversy surrounding then-Minister of State, Emmet Stagg, in 1994 when gardaí apprehended him in dubious circumstances in The Phoenix Park]In 1995, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications in the newly formed
Rainbow Coalition Government.He is currently the Labour Party Chief Whip and Spokesperson on Nuclear Safety.
His brother,
Frank Stagg , was aProvisional Irish Republican Army member who died in a British prison in 1976 while onhunger strike .References
External links
* [http://www.labour.ie/emmetstagg/ Labour Partys page on Stagg]
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