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    Paudie Coffey

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min

    Paudie Coffey
    Paudie Coffey.jpg
    Minister of State
    2014–2016Environment, Community and Local Government
    Senator
    In office
    11 May 2016 – 27 March 2020
    ConstituencyNominated by the Taoiseach
    In office
    29 July 2007 – 25 February 2011
    ConstituencyIndustrial and Commercial Panel
    Teachta Dála
    In office
    February 2011 – February 2016
    ConstituencyWaterford
    Personal details
    Born (1969-05-15) 15 May 1969 (age 53)
    Waterford, Ireland
    Political partyFine Gael
    Children3
    Alma mater
    • Waterford Institute of Technology
    • University College Dublin

    Paudie Coffey (born 15 May 1969) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Minister of State from 2014 to 2016. He served as a Senator from 2016 to 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach, and previously from 2007 to 2011 for the Industrial and Commercial Panel. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Waterford constituency from 2011 to 2016.[1]

    Political career[edit]

    He was first elected to Waterford County Council in 1999 for the Suir local electoral area, and re-elected in 2004. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2007 general election for the Waterford constituency, but was subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann in July 2007 as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel.[2]

    Coffey was elected for the Waterford constituency at the 2011 general election gaining 9,698 (18.1%) first preference votes and was subsequently elected.[2] On 15 July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government with responsibility for Housing, Planning and Co-ordination of the Construction 2020 Strategy.[3] He lost his seat at the 2016 general election.[2][4]

    Coffey was instrumental in the introduction of the Construction Contracts Act 2013. The Act regularises payment terms between construction companies, and puts in place a dispute resolution process aimed at reducing days lost and costs on construction projects.

    He was nominated by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny to the 25th Seanad in May 2016.[5]

    Kilkenny People court case[edit]

    Coffey alleged he was defamed by the Kilkenny People newspaper on 15 January 2016. He was nicknamed 'Coffey the Robber' after the newspaper published an article containing a press release by Carlow-Kilkenny Fine Gael TD John Paul Phelan. The comparison was based on William Crotty, who was an 18th-century criminal known as Crotty the Robber.[6] Coffey settled out of court on 31 July 2019.[7]

    Retirement[edit]

    On 16 December 2019, he announced that he was retiring from politics and would not contest the next general election.[8]

    References[edit]

    1. ^ "Paudie Coffey". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
    2. ^ a b c "Paudie Coffey". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
    3. ^ "Simon Harris among new Ministers of State". RTÉ News. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
    4. ^ McGrath, Meadhbh (6 May 2016). "Revealed: The salaries TDs pocketed over 10 weeks of government talks". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    5. ^ Bardon, Sarah (27 May 2016). "FF leader selects three of Taoiseach's 11 Seanad appointees". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
    6. ^ "Fine Gael TD was surprised by 'Coffey the Robber' headline on article". The Irish Times. 30 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
    7. ^ "Fine Gael Senator Paudie Coffey settles 'highway robber' defamation case". Irish Independent. 31 July 2019. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
    8. ^ "FG's Paudie Coffey will not contest general election". RTÉ News. 16 December 2019. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.

    External links[edit]

    Oireachtas
    Preceded by
    Martin Cullen
    (Fianna Fáil)
    		 Fine Gael Teachta Dála for Waterford
    2011–2016     		Succeeded by
    Mary Butler
    (Fianna Fáil)
    This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paudie Coffey
    Status: article is cached
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