Gino Kenny

Eugene "Gino" Kenny (born 25 June 1972) is an Irish People Before Profit politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Mid-West constituency since the 2016 general election.[2][3]

Gino Kenny

TD
Teachta Dála
Assumed office
February 2016
ConstituencyDublin Mid-West
Personal details
Born
Eugene Kenny[1]

(1972-06-25) 25 June 1972
Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Political partyPeople Before Profit

He has lived in Neilstown since 1979.[4] Before entering politics he worked as a carer for the elderly in several hospitals.[5] He was a member of South Dublin County Council from 2009 until 2016, representing People Before Profit. He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his third attempt in February 2016.[6] He had previously contested the general elections of 2007 and 2011, finishing ahead of sitting TD Paul Gogarty in the latter.

He has been noted by international media for his involvement in the Campaign Against Home and Water Taxes.

After being elected to the Dáil in 2016, he put forward a Private Member's Bill on the medicinal use of cannabis.[5] After this Bill was rejected by an Oireachtas Committee for being poorly planned, he called the Dáil a "kip."[7]

In May 2018 he accused Minister of State for Defence Paul Kehoe of having "blood on his hands" after the government purchased 4 Unmanned aerial vehicles from an Israeli manufacturer. Kenny suggested it was immoral for the Irish state to purchase military equipment from Israel because of questions over its civil rights record. Kehoe responded by saying the purchased UAVs had no offensive capacity and that the manufacturer had won the bid on the contract, and said that bids were open to any company not sanctioned or barred by the EU, UN or OSCE.[8]

After looking set to lose his seat at the February 2020 general election (and indeed, conceding prematurely), Kenny retained it by unseating John Curran of Fianna Fáil in what RTÉ described as "one of the stories of this election with Gino Kenny's resurrection".[9]

In October 2020 Kenny sponsored a "Dying with Dignity" Bill in the Dáil that proposed legalising assisted suicide in Ireland, an area he has been campaigning on for some time. It passed 81 votes to 71 following the government allowing a free vote on the matter. Following the vote, the Bill has moved to the committee stage.[10][11]

References
  1. O'Connell, Hugh. "Meet the working class TD named Gino who'll get the bus to Leinster House today". The Journal.
  2. "Gino Kenny". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  3. "Election 2016: Gino Kenny". RTÉ News. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  4. Holland, Kitty (28 February 2016). "Profile: Gino Kenny (AAA–PBP) Dublin Mid-West: Fourth TD elected of four". The Irish Times.
  5. Gleeson, Colin (15 December 2016). "People Before Profit TD behind medicinal cannabis Bill calls Donald Trump 'a maniac'". The Irish Times.
  6. "Gino Kenny". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  7. McEnroe, Juno. "Gino Kenny stands over Dáil 'kip' remark". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  8. O'Halloran, Marie (10 May 2018). "Minister rejects claim he has 'blood on hands' over Israeli drone procurement". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  9. McMorrow, Conor. "'A day is a long time in politics'". RTÉ News. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. Quann, Jack (8 October 2020). "Right to die bill: TD hopeful of 'possible referendum' next year". Newstalk.
  11. Hosford, Paul (7 October 2020). "Dying with Dignity bill moves to next stage after being passed in Dáil". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
Oireachtas
Preceded by
Robert Dowds
Frances Fitzgerald
Derek Keating
Joanna Tuffy		 Teachta Dála for Dublin Mid-West
2016–present
With: John Curran (from 2016}
Frances Fitzgerald (to 2019)
Eoin Ó Broin (from 2016}
Mark Ward (from 2019)		 Incumbent
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