Fine Gael

Irish political party

Follow Fine Gael on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!

2024 Seán Kyne began serving as Deputy Leader of the Seanad and Spokesperson on Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and the Gaeltacht.
October 19 2024 Simon Harris appointed Helen McEntee as the deputy leader of Fine Gael after Heather Humphreys announced she would not contest the 2024 general election.
April 10 2024 The government nominated 7 additional Fine Gael ministers of state on the recommendation of the Taoiseach.
April 9 2024 Six Fine Gael TDs were appointed to the 34th government of Ireland. Hildegarde Naughton was also nominated by the Taoiseach as a minister of state in attendance at cabinet.
April 9 2024 Simon Harris was appointed as Taoiseach, becoming the youngest person to hold this position in the history of the state.
April 5 2024 Heather Humphreys became Deputy Leader of Fine Gael, representing Cavan–Monaghan.
March 24 2024 Simon Harris succeeded Varadkar as Fine Gael leader through an uncontested leadership election.
March 20 2024 Leo Varadkar resigned as leader of Fine Gael, citing both personal and political reasons, stating he was no longer the 'best person for the job'.
2023 Several Fine Gael senators took on new spokesperson roles, including Joe O'Reilly becoming Deputy Government Whip, Paddy Burke becoming Spokesperson on Social Protection, Rural & Community Development & The Islands, Maria Byrne becoming Spokesperson on Finance, and Emer Currie becoming Spokesperson on Special Education and Inclusion & Northern Ireland.
December 17 2022 Micheál Martin resigned as Taoiseach, allowing Leo Varadkar to become Taoiseach and continuing the coalition government between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party.
July 6 2022 The government lost its majority when Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh voted against the mica redress scheme legislation and resigned the party whip, triggering a potential motion of no confidence.
November 2021 Three members of the ten-member National Executive (Gary O'Donovan, Dylan Hutchinson, and Audrey O'Leary) resigned in protest of the Kilkenny branch's treatment and what they described as a 'toxic' atmosphere within the Executive.
November 2021 The Kilkenny branch of Young Fine Gael publicly called for the resignation of Tánaiste and party leader Leo Varadkar, citing an ongoing Garda investigation into his leak of a confidential pay agreement document and low poll numbers.
July 2021 Minister Simon Coveney announced Katherine Zappone's proposed appointment as Special Envoy to the UN, which was later withdrawn due to the Merrion Hotel controversy involving a gathering during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
2020 Multiple Fine Gael senators began their spokespersonships across various portfolios, including Garret Ahearn (Enterprise, Trade and Employment), Micheál Carrigy (Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, and Media), Martin Conway (Health), John Cummins (Housing, Local Government, and Heritage), Aisling Dolan (Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science), Mary Seery Kearney (Children, Disability, Equality, Integration & Youth), Tim Lombard (Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Marine), John McGahon (Environment, Climate and Communications), and Barry Ward (Justice).
2020 Fine Gael appointed non-ministerial office holders as spokespeople for policy areas where they do not have a minister.
2020 YFG opposed the Programme for Government agreed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party, though the Fine Gael party ultimately voted overwhelmingly to enter the coalition.
October 2020 Village magazine published a claim about Leo Varadkar providing a confidential document to the National Association of General Practitioners, leading to controversy and a potential motion of no confidence.
June 27 2020 Varadkar stepped down as Taoiseach and entered into a unique power-sharing arrangement with Micheál Martin of Fianna Fáil, agreeing to rotate the role of Taoiseach under a coalition government.
March 2020 Rejoined the medical register in response to Health Service Executive's appeal, offering to work as a doctor one day per week during the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 2020 Varadkar announced national COVID-19 containment measures, including closure of schools, universities, childcare facilities, cultural institutions, and restrictions on mass gatherings.
March 2020 Delivered a nationally televised address on Saint Patrick's night introducing the concept of 'cocooning' for vulnerable populations. The broadcast became the most-watched television event in Irish history, surpassing The Late Late Toy Show's previous record by 25%.
February 29 2020 First case of COVID-19 discovered in Ireland. Leo Varadkar was in Washington, D.C. at the time, preparing for Saint Patrick's Day.
February 20 2020 Varadkar offered his resignation to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin, in accordance with the constitution, while remaining Taoiseach until a new government was formed.
February 12 2020 Varadkar conceded Fine Gael's election loss and acknowledged he would likely become the Opposition Leader, expressing willingness to allow Sinn Féin, as the popular vote winner, to form a government.
February 8 2020 Fine Gael participated in the general election, with Varadkar re-elected in the Dublin West constituency. The party fell to 35 seats, placing third behind Fianna Fáil (38 seats) and Sinn Féin (37 seats).
January 14 2020 Leo Varadkar sought dissolution of the 32nd Dáil, which was granted by President Michael D. Higgins, and scheduled the general election for 8 February.
2019 YFG established its first branch in Northern Ireland at Queen's University Belfast, with the launch attended by Helen McEntee, Attorney General and Minister for European Affairs.
August 2019 Calls for Killian Foley-Walsh to resign emerged after he and Chloe Kennedy attended the Young America Foundation's annual conference featuring prominent Republicans like Mike Pence and Ted Cruz.
2018 Killian Foley-Walsh was elected YFG president, with controversy arising over a previous tweet about abortion pills that he later described as 'an atrocious comment'.
2018 YFG members voted in favor of Ireland becoming a member of CERN (European nuclear physics research centre).
May 2018 The abortion referendum was held, with 66% of votes supporting the repeal of the 8th Amendment, enabling new legislation to liberalize abortion laws in Ireland.
January 2018 Leo Varadkar announced the referendum to repeal Ireland's 8th Amendment, proposing to allow unrestricted abortion access up to 12 weeks and with exceptions for maternal health up to six months.
January 2018 Leo Varadkar's opinion poll approval ratings peaked at 60%, marking the highest approval rating for a Taoiseach in ten years.
2017 YFG members voted to take a neutral stance on the upcoming referendum regarding Ireland's Eighth Amendment concerning abortion laws.
June 14 2017 Leo Varadkar was elected Taoiseach, leading a minority government in coalition with independent TDs.
June 13 2017 Simon Coveney became Deputy Leader of Fine Gael, representing Cork South-Central.
2016 A YFG member using the official YFG Twitter account sent an offensive tweet to Sinn Féin councillor Sarah Holland, referencing the IRA, for which YFG later apologized.
February 2016 A YFG member posted a controversial meme about Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald, which she described as an example of 'everyday sexism' and 'tasteless'.
2015 YFG campaigned in support of legalizing same-sex marriage through the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
October 2015 YFG president Padraig O'Sullivan resigned from his position following a petition from the majority of executive council members demanding his resignation, citing work and personal commitments.
2011 Enda Kenny led Fine Gael to a landslide victory in the general election and became Taoiseach in a coalition with the Labour Party.
July 1 2010 James Reilly became Deputy Leader of Fine Gael, representing Dublin North.

This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Leader of Fine Gael, History of Fine Gael, Fine Gael Front Bench & Young Fine Gael, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

See Also