Gino Kenny

Gino Kenny
Kenny in 2016
Teachta Dála
In office
February 2016 – November 2024
ConstituencyDublin Mid-West
Personal details
BornEugene Kenny[1]
(1972-06-25) 25 June 1972 (age 53)
Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
PartyPeople Before Profit–Solidarity

Eugene "Gino" Kenny (born 25 June 1972) is an Irish People Before Profit–Solidarity politician who will serve as a councillor on South Dublin County Council from April 2026. He was a TD for the Dublin Mid-West constituency from 2016 to 2024.[2][3][4]

Early life

He moved to Neilstown in 1979, where he lives with his partner.[5][6] Before entering politics he worked as a carer for the elderly in several hospitals, having acquired a Masters' in public health studies.[7]

Political career

Kenny joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1994; a 2001 article in The Echo noted his involvement in anti-globalisation protests at the 27th G8 summit in Italy.[8]

South Dublin County Council

During the 2000s, Kenny was the spokesperson for the Mast Action Clondalkin group, campaigning for the removal of a phone mast in Ronanstown.[9][10] He unsuccessfully contested the 2004 elections to South Dublin County Council in the Clondalkin local area for the Socialist Workers Party,[11] but was elected in 2009 for People Before Profit, remaining on the council until his election as a TD in 2016. During his election campaign in 2009, he was ordered to pay compensation after being caught spraying "Israel wanted for murder" on the Mill Shopping Centre complex in Clondalkin.[12]

While a member of South Dublin County Council, Kenny was involved in a campaign supporting workers from waste company Greyhound, who had been in an industrial dispute over pay cuts;[13] in 2014 Kenny had an injunction taken against him by Greyhound, preventing him from obstructing bin collections.[14]

In February 2026, it was announced that Kenny would return to his previous seat on South Dublin County Council in April of that year, replacing the resigning councillor Darragh Adelaide.[15]

Dáil Éireann

He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his third attempt in February 2016,[16] becoming the first person from Neilstown to be elected to the Dáil.[17] He had previously contested the general elections of 2007 and 2011, finishing ahead of sitting TD Paul Gogarty in the latter.

After being elected to the Dáil in 2016, he put forward a Private Member's Bill to legalise the medicinal use of cannabis.[7] After this bill was rejected when an Oireachtas Committee described it as having "too many flaws", he called the Dáil a "kip."[18]

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.[19]

After looking set to lose his seat at the 2020 general election and having conceded prematurely, Kenny retained it by unseating John Curran of Fianna Fáil, in what RTÉ described as his "resurrection" and "one of the stories of this election".[20]

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.[21][22]

In November 2022, Kenny introduced a bill in the Dáil that would legalise cannabis for personal use and possession of up to seven grams of cannabis.[23]

Kenny lost his seat at the 2024 general election.[4]

References

  1. ^ O'Connell, Hugh (10 March 2016). "Meet the working class TD named Gino who'll get the bus to Leinster House today". The Journal. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Gino Kenny". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Election 2016: Gino Kenny". RTÉ News. 17 December 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Dublin Mid-West - your updates". RTÉ News. 1 December 2024.
  5. ^ Holland, Kitty (28 February 2016). "Profile: Gino Kenny (AAA–PBP) Dublin Mid-West: Fourth TD elected of four". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  6. ^ Holland, Kitty. "Election 2020: Gino Kenny (People Before Profit)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b Gleeson, Colin (15 December 2016). "People Before Profit TD behind medicinal cannabis Bill calls Donald Trump 'a maniac'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  8. ^ Dunne, Karen (19 July 2001). "Gino joins anti-globalisation demo at G8 Summit in Genoa". The Echo.
  9. ^ McMahon, Cathal (8 October 2007). "Mast group to take children out of school". Evening Herald. p. 26. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  10. ^ O'Connor, Niall (31 August 2011). "Families fear they're in a cancer cluster". Evening Herald. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Sinn Fein tops poll". The Echo. 17 June 2004.
  12. ^ Phelan, Andrew (1 April 2009). "Court orders candidate to pay graffiti bill". Evening Herald. p. 29. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  13. ^ O'Faolain, Aodain; Managh, Ray (6 August 2014). "Greyhound says barring order has been breached". Evening Herald. p. 12. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  14. ^ Cherfi, Saurya (9 August 2014). "Councillor warned not to stop bin collections". Irish Independent. pp. T6. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  15. ^ Riaz, Azmia (26 February 2026). "Former TD Gino Kenny joins South Dublin County Council after Darragh Adelaide steps down". Irish Independent. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Gino Kenny". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  17. ^ Dillon, Fiona (4 March 2016). "'We want houses, not junkets', says Gino". Evening Herald. p. 8. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  18. ^ McEnroe, Juno. "Gino Kenny stands over Dáil 'kip' remark". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  19. ^ O'Halloran, Marie (10 May 2018). "Minister rejects claim he has 'blood on hands' over Israeli drone procurement". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  20. ^ McMorrow, Conor. "'A day is a long time in politics'". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  21. ^ Quann, Jack (8 October 2020). "Right to die bill: TD hopeful of 'possible referendum' next year". Newstalk. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  22. ^ Hosford, Paul (7 October 2020). "Dying with Dignity bill moves to next stage after being passed in Dáil". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  23. ^ Barry, Aoife (12 November 2022). "Bill to be introduced that would legalise personal use of cannabis". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gino_Kenny