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Jan O'Sullivan

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Jan O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan, c. 2002
Minister for Education and Skills
In office
11 July 2014 – 6 May 2016
TaoiseachEnda Kenny
Preceded byRuairi Quinn
Succeeded byRichard Bruton
Minister of State
2011–2014Environment, Community and Local Government
2011Foreign Affairs and Trade
Teachta Dála
In office
February 2011 – February 2020
ConstituencyLimerick City
In office
March 1998 – February 2011
ConstituencyLimerick East
Senator
In office
17 February 1993 – 17 September 1997
ConstituencyAdministrative Panel
Personal details
Born
Janice Gale

(1950-12-06) 6 December 1950 (age 73)
Clonlara, County Clare, Ireland
Political partyLabour Party
Spouse
Paul O'Sullivan
​
(m. 1990)​
Children2
EducationVilliers School
Alma mater

Jan O'Sullivan (née Gale; born 6 December 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2014 to 2016 and as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2014. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick City constituency from 2011 to 2020, and previously from 1998 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency.[1]

Personal life

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O'Sullivan was born in Clonlara, County Clare, in 1950. She was educated at Villiers School, Limerick, where her father was a journalist. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, she took a Higher Diploma in Education at University College Cork. After working as a teacher for a short period of time, she studied as a Montessori teacher[2] while living in Canada. After returning to Ireland, in the late 1970s, O'Sullivan helped to run Limerick's family planning clinic.

A member of the Church of Ireland, she married Paul O'Sullivan, a Catholic and a GP;[3] they have one daughter and one son.[2] She spent time at home while having her children and once they were in school she ran a playgroup in the mornings, spent time with the children in the afternoon and did political work in the evenings.[4]

Political career

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Democratic Socialist: 1982–1990

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In 1982, O'Sullivan joined the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), a small party founded by Limerick TD Jim Kemmy, who had previously been a members of the Labour Party. There had been no political tradition in her family – her parents had supported different parties – and her choice of party was based on her support for Kemmy's anti-nationalist stance on Northern Ireland, and his advocacy of family planning services and a pro-choice approach to abortion.[4] Family planning was deeply controversial in Ireland from the 1970s to the 1990s, particularly in Limerick, where Kemmy had lost his Dáil seat at the November 1982 general election, after being denounced by the Catholic Church for his opposition to the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland. Those such as O'Sullivan who were involved in the family planning services which Kemmy had helped found were labelled "Kemmy's Femmies".[2]

O'Sullivan was elected to Limerick City Council in 1985, she also served as a member of the Mid-Western Health Board from 1991 to 2003.[5]

Labour: 1990s

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O'Sullivan joined the Labour Party when the DSP merged with Labour in 1990, having been one of the DSP's negotiators in the merger discussions.[4] At the 1992 general election, as the running-mate of the DSP's founder Jim Kemmy, she narrowly missed winning a second seat for Labour in Limerick East.[6] In 1993, she was elected to the 20th Seanad on the Administrative Panel, and became leader of the Labour group in Seanad Éireann.[2]

From 1993 to 1994, O'Sullivan was Mayor of Limerick. Her religion twice became an issue in 1994, when she was prevented from opening a Christian Brothers School and from reading a lesson at a mass for Limerick's civic week.

O'Sullivan was unsuccessful again at the 1997 general election,[6] but after Kemmy's death in September 1997, she was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the by-election in March 1998. She held the seat in a close three-way contest, becoming the first female TD from County Limerick since Kathleen O'Callaghan in 1921. Both the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael candidates in the by-election were also women.[7]

Labour: 2000s

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O'Sullivan was re-elected at the 2002, 2007 and 2011 general elections, and at the 1999 local elections became Limerick's first alderwoman (as well as its last, as the title was abolished by the Local Government Act 2001).

In the 28th Dáil, she was the Labour Party Spokesperson on Justice and Equality and a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights.[2] In the 29th Dáil, she was vice-chair of both the Dáil Select Committee on Education and Science and the Joint Committee on Education and Science,[1] as well as her party's spokesperson on Education and Science.[5]

After Labour's disappointing performance at the 2007 general election, Pat Rabbitte resigned as leader and the outgoing deputy leader, Liz McManus, did not seek re-election. Eamon Gilmore was elected unopposed as leader,[8] O'Sullivan stood for the deputy leadership, and was defeated by Dublin West TD Joan Burton, by 1,480 votes to 1,276.[9] In a frontbench reshuffle on 16 September 2007, appointed O'Sullivan to the role of Spokesperson for Health.[10]

Government: 2011–2016

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O'Sullivan in 2011

On 10 March 2011, she was appointed by the Fine Gael–Labour government as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for Trade and Development.[11] On 20 December 2011, she was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with special responsibility for Housing and Planning.[12][13] She attended meetings of the cabinet, a position described as a "super junior" minister.[14][15]

In July 2014, she was appointed Minister for Education and Skills.[16] She continued the promotion of plurality in a church-dominated system by divesting schools of church patronage, and announced new multi-denominational schools under the patronage divesting process.[17]

In March 2015, the government, with O'Sullivan the minister responsible, confirmed it would lock away for 75 years any statements it received from victims of child sexual abuse (almost twice the normal length). This decision was criticised by survivors.[18]

Opposition: 2016–2020

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O'Sullivan retained her seat in the Dáil, following the 2016 general election in February, one of only seven Labour TDs to be elected. The party did not enter government, though O'Sullivan retained her position as Minister for Education and Skills until talks on government formation had concluded and the formation of a new government on 6 May 2016.

She lost her seat at the 2020 general election.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jan O'Sullivan". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e McNamara, Maedbh; Mooney, Paschal (2000). Women in Parliament: Ireland 1918–2000. Dublin: Wolfhound Press. ISBN 0-86327-759-4.
  3. ^ "Profile: Jan O'Sullivan (Lab)". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Deputy Jan O'Sullivan". European database: Women in decision-making. 2001. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Jan O'Sullivan TD". Labour Party website. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Jan O'Sullivan". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 8 September 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Limerick East by-election, 11 March 1998". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Gilmore declared new Labour leader". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 6 September 2007. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  9. ^ Piaras Murphy (14 October 2007). "Burton elected Labour deputy leader in a tight contest". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  10. ^ Elaine Edwards (19 September 2007). "Gilmore names new front bench". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  11. ^ "Appointment of Ministers of State" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2011 (23): 402–403. 22 March 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Appointment of Minister of State" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2012 (3): 64. 10 January 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  13. ^ Environment, Community and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2012 (S.I. No. 148 of 2012). Signed on 8 May 2012. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 3 April 2021.; Environment, Community and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2013 (S.I. No. 375 of 2013). Signed on 18 September 2013. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 3 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Jan O'Sullivan named 'super junior' minister". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 20 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  15. ^ Oireachtas (Allowances) (Certain Ministers of State) Order 2012 (S.I. No. 28 of 2012). Signed on 28 June 2011. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 18 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Appointment of Members of the Government/Assignment of Departments of State" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2014 (57): 1079–1080. 18 July 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  17. ^ McNamara, Maedhbh (2020). A woman's place is in the Cabinet: Women ministers in Irish governments, 1919-2019. Drogheda: Sea Dog Books. ISBN 978-1-913275-06-8.
  18. ^ Ó Cionnaith, Fiachra (4 March 2015). "75 years: Abuse files to be secret". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015. The decision not to make the files publicly available […] was put forward yesterday by Jan O'Sullivan, the education minister, and will see the files withheld for almost twice as long as State papers are normally kept.
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Civic offices
Preceded by
Joe Quinn
 Mayor of Limerick
1993–1994 		Succeeded by
Dick Sadler
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Education and Skills
2014–2016 		Succeeded by
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