- Therese Ridge
Therese Ridge (born
1 March 1941 )cite web |url=http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=21&MemberID=1973&ConstID=206 |title=Ms. Therese Ridge |work=Oireachtas Members Database |accessdate=2008-02-15] is aFine Gael politician fromClondalkin ,County Dublin in Ireland.Ridge was educated at Goldenbridge College, Dublin and at
St Patrick's College, Maynooth , where she graduated with an MA. She worked as aMontessori teacher and then as an external tutor at Maynooth Adult Education Department and at Stewarts Hospital inPalmerstown .Political career
She has been a councillor was on the
South Dublin County Council since the county's establishment in 1993, and was chair of the Council from 1996 to 1997. She previously represented the same Clondalkin area on the formerDublin County Council , to which she was elected in 1985 and which she chaired from 1992 to 1993.cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20020424175622/www.finegael.ie/constituencies/othermems/ridge_dublin_sw.htm |title=Senator Therese Ridge MCC |year=2001 |work=Fine Gael website |publisher=The Internet Archive |accessdate=2008-02-15]Ridge stood three times as a Fine Gael candidate for
Dáil Éireann , but was unsuccessful on each occasion: in Dublin South West at the 1987 general election, in Dublin West at the 1992 general election and in Dublin Mid West at the 2092 general election.She stood unsuccessfully at the 1989 and 1993 elections to
Seanad Éireann on theLabour Panel , but won a seat at the 1997 election to the21st Seanad . She was defeated in the 2002 Seanad elections.cite web |url=http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=840 |title=Therese Ridge |work=ElectionsIreland.org |accessdate=2008-02-15]Mahon Tribunal
The lobbyist
Frank Dunlop , whose allegations of corruption in the rezoning of land inCounty Dublin were based on his own involvement in much of the alleged wrongdoing, claimed in 2000 that he had paid 16 councillors involved in rezoning decisions including that on theQuarryvale site in west Dublin. Fine Gael's then leaderJohn Bruton established an internal inquiry into the allegations, which reported in May 2000 that that it was while Ridge had received donations from developers (including two payments of £500 each from Dunlop), it was "satisfied that Ms. Ridge did not allow the payments which she received to influence her decision to vote on any of these three motions".cite web |url=http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/special/2000/fginquiry/index.htm |title=Inquiry into payments made to Fine Gael representatives: Final report submitted to John Bruton TD leader, Fine Gael |date=12 May 2000 |publisher=The Irish Times |accessdate=2008-02-16]In November 2007, Dunlop told the tribunal had persuaded councillors to arrange the seating at a county council meeting to ensure that Fine Gael councillor Peter Brady could be prompted by Ridge to vote in favour of a motion on Quarryvale. Dunlop told the tribunal that he was in the public gallery at the time of the vote and heard Ridge say to her colleague "for, Peter, for" when the time came for him to cast his vote. [cite web |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/voters-told-where-to-sit--in-case-one-needed-a-dig-1209144.html |title=Voters told where to sit 'in case one needed a dig' |author=Lorna Reid |date=
1 November 2007 |publisher=The Irish Independent |accessdate=2008-02-16]References
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