- Ciarán Cuffe
-
Ciarán Cuffe 
Minister of State
for Horticulture, Sustainable Travel and Planning and HeritageIn office
23 March 2010 – 23 January 2011Teachta Dála In office
May 2002 – February 2011Constituency Dún Laoghaire Personal details Born 3 April 1963
Shankill, County DublinNationality Irish Political party Green Party Alma mater University of Maine,
University College Dublin,
University of VeniceWebsite Official website Ciarán Cuffe (born 3 April 1963) is an Irish Green Party politician, an architect and a lecturer in planning. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 2002 to 2011, and served as Minister of State for Horticulture; Sustainable Travel; and Planning and Heritage from 2010 to 2011.[1]
Contents
Background
Born in Shankill, Dublin. His mother was Ethel Skakel Kennedy's sister. His cousins include the children of Skakel and Robert F. Kennedy.[2] His granduncle was the Fianna Fáil TD Patrick Little.
Education
Cuffe attended the Children's House Montessori School in Stillorgan, Gonzaga College in Ranelagh, the University of Maine at Orono, University College Dublin, and the University of Venice. He has degrees in architecture and town planning from University College Dublin. He lectured in urban planning at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street.
Early political activism
He joined the Green Party in 1982, and campaigned with Students Against the Destruction of Dublin in the 1980s. Cuffe was twice elected to Dublin City Council in 1991 and 1999 for the South Inner City electoral area.[3]
He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Dublin Central constituency at the 1997 general election, but was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2002 general election for the Dún Laoghaire constituency.
In June 2003, he stepped down as the Green party's environment spokesperson after it was revealed that he held shares worth $70,000 in a number of oil exploration companies which he had inherited when his late mother had left him $1.3 million in her will. [4] He was re-elected at the 2007 general election.[3][5]
In government
Following the 2007 Irish general election, the Irish Green Party formed a coalition government with two other political parties and a number of independent TDs.
Just after the general election on 28 May 2007, he wrote on his blog: "A deal with Fianna Fáil would be a deal with the Devil. We would be spat out after 5 years, and decimated as a party".[6]
On 23 March 2010, following a cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with special responsibility for Horticulture; Sustainable Travel; and Planning and Heritage.[7]
While in office, he enacted the Planning & Development (Amendment) Act 2010[8] to address land-use planning failures and over-zoning of development land. The new legislation reformed the way development plans and local area plans are made and, for the first time in Irish legislation included a definition of 'Anthropogenic Climate Change' and required energy use to be taken into account in planning decisions. He also published an update of the National Spatial Strategy.[9]
He promoted healthy eating for children, school gardens and local markets. He published laws to address climate change and noise pollution, and heritage protection. This January he launched a new policy to allow bicycles on off-peak DART trains.[10]
He resigned as Minister of State on 23 January 2011 when the Green Party withdrew from government.[11] He lost his seat in the 2011 general election, losing his deposit.
Local work
Cuffe set up the "Vision for Dún Laoghaire"[12] group to attract new businesses and shops, brighten up the town, and save the Festival of World Cultures.
References
- ^ "Mr. Ciarán Cuffe". Oireachtas Members Database. http://oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=29&MemberID=1814&ConstID=99. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ "Oh Dear, Prudence". Cuffe Street. 13 May 2007. http://cuffestreet.blogspot.com/2007/05/dear-prudence.html.
- ^ a b "Ciarán Cuffe". ElectionsIreland.org. http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=4256. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ "Cuffe quits as Environment spokesman". RTÉ News. 10 June 2003. http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0610/green.html. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ "General Election 2007 – Dún Laoghaire". RTÉ News: General Election 2007. 25 May 2007. http://www.rte.ie/news/elections2007/results/constit-22.html.
- ^ "Great to be back". Cuffe Street. 28 May 2007. http://cuffestreet.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html.
- ^ "Killeen, Carey promoted to cabinet". RTÉ News. 23 March 2010. http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0323/politics.html. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Planning Acts - Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government". Environ.ie. http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentandHousing/PlanningDevelopment/Planning/PlanningLegislation-Overview/PlanningActs/. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Bicycles to be permitted on Dart and commuter trains in off-peak hours". The Irish Times. 5 January 2011. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0105/1224286779803.html.
- ^ "Green Party withdraws from government". RTÉ News. 23 January 2011. http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0123/politics1.html. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
- ^ http://www.visionfordl.ie/
External links
- Ciarán Cuffe's official website
- Ciarán Cuffe's blog
- Ciarán Cuffe's page on the Green Party website
- 'Failed planning gave us Nama - Cuffe'
- Land zoned for housing to fall by 70%, says Minister
- Councillor says Cuffe's allegations 'outrageous'
- Retail plan shows developers have learnt nothing, says Cuffe
- President urged to intervene as late change to planning Act sparks fears
- Dezoning back to agricultural land should only be as 'a last resort' - Cuffe
Oireachtas Preceded by
Monica Barnes
(Fine Gael)Green Party Teachta Dála for Dún Laoghaire
2002–2011Succeeded by
Constituency reduced by one seatPolitical offices New office Minister of State
for Horticulture, Sustainable Travel and Planning and Heritage
2010–2011Succeeded by
Office abolishedCategories:- 1963 births
- Living people
- Green Party (Ireland) politicians
- Teachtaí Dála
- Members of the 29th Dáil
- Members of the 30th Dáil
- People from County Dublin
- People from Dún Laoghaire
- Alumni of University College Dublin
- Local councillors in Dublin (city)
- University of Maine alumni
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