PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS

The 'Progressive Democrats' (Irish ''An Páirtí Daonlathach'', lit.: ''The Democratic Party'') is a free market liberal party in the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1985, it adopts liberal positions on economic issues. Although founded 52 years after Fine Gael it has served in government for 18 years, the same as Fine Gael. A member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR), it is currently in coalition government with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.
The party suffered a collapse in the 2007 general election, losing six of its eight seats in Dáil Éireann, including those of Tánaiste, Minister for Justice, and party leader Michael McDowell; deputy leader Liz O'Donnell; and party president Tom Parlon. The party has committed itself to rebuilding for 2009 Local and European elections.^[2]

History

The party was founded in 1985 by Desmond O'Malley, a former senior minister in Fianna Fáil governments under Jack Lynch and Charles Haughey. O'Malley was a strong opponent of Haughey and was involved in a number of leadership heaves against Haughey, who was popular and controversial in equal measure. O'Malley was finally expelled from Fianna Fáil for ''conduct unbecoming'' a member when he refused to support Fianna Fáil's opposition to the introduction of contraception.
O'Malley joined with Fianna Fáil members Mary Harney, Bobby Molloy and Pearse Wyse, Fine Gael TD Michael Keating and former Fine Gael activist Michael McDowell, to set up the new party. The breakaways were dissatisfied with the policies of existing parties, which they viewed as being insufficiently liberal (both economically and on social issues such as divorce and contraception).
In the 1987 general election the new party won 14 seats and 11.9% of the vote, becoming the third largest party in the Dáil. The Progressive Democrats formed the second largest opposition party under difficult circumstances. The minority Fianna Fáil government introduced some of the economic reforms that the Progressive Democrats had recommended, Fianna Fáil was however largely supported by Fine Gael where the economy was concerned and so the Progressive Democrats had difficulty in being effective in opposition.
In 1989 they formed a coalition government with Fianna Fáil, with Charles Haughey as Taoiseach. Haughey was replaced in February 1992 by Albert Reynolds.
After the collapse of Reynolds' first administration later in 1992, O'Malley retired from the leadership of the party. Mary Harney became the new leader after a bitter election contest with Pat Cox, who later left the party. Harney was the first woman to lead any of the major Irish political parties. Harney served as Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) from May 1997 until September 2006, when she resigned as party leader.
In the 2002 general election, the party defied expectations by doubling its Dáil seats to eight, although its share of the vote declined slightly to 4%. In total the Progressive Democrats have participated in coalition governments four times, on each occasion with Fianna Fáil (1989–1992; 1997–2002; 2002–2007; 2007–present).
On 7 September 2006 Mary Harney announced that she was stepping down as leader of the Progressive Democrats. She expressed a wish to stay on as Minister for Health.^[3] On 10 September, Michael McDowell was elected unopposed as Party Leader, having been nominated by Tom Parlon and that nomination being seconded by Liz O'Donnell.^[4] Liz O'Donnell became Deputy Leader and Tom Parlon became Party President.
The Irish general election, 2007, was a disastrous one for the party. The Progressive Democrats lost six of its eight seats in the 166 seat Dáil. Among those to lose their seats were party leader Michael McDowell, deputy leader Liz O'Donnell and party president Tom Parlon.^[5] McDowell resigned from public life after he lost his seat, and Mary Harney was asked by the party chairman to resume the role of party leader.^[6]
Tom Parlon announced on 10 July, 2007, that he was leaving public life and would not seek a nomination to Seanad Éireann, or to contest the leadership of the Progressive Democrats. Instead he will take up the position of Director General of the Irish Construction Industry Federation.^[7]

Policies

The Progressive Democrats' economic policies are based on liberal economics. They support a free private enterprise and low tax policy base.
The Progressive Democrats generally favour privatisation . For example, they supported the privatisation of the previously state-owned airline Aer Lingus and communications company Telecom Éireann. They were also part of the break up of airports company Aer Rianta and unsuccessfully lobbied for a private, competing second terminal in Dublin Airport. The acting PD leader and Minister for Health has also been involved in the controversial extension of private influence in healthcare. She has pursued a policy of co-location of private hospitals on public hospital grounds and is seen as sympathetic to the privatisation of health insurance. However they opposed their coalition partner’s plans to privatise airports company Aer Rianta, on the grounds that a private monopoly would be worse than a public monopoly .
The party has been a strong supporter of low taxation. As the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) stated in 2002: 'On balance, budgets over the past 10 to 20 years have been more favourable to high income groups than low income groups, but particularly so during periods of high growth.^[8] While the party was in government since 1997, the lower rate of income tax fell from 26% to 20% and the upper rate from 48% to 41%.^[9]^[10]
They support low corporation tax because they believe it encourages business growth and allows for enterprise to be rewarded. The party has often claimed these policies are in part responsible for the "Celtic Tiger" economy. Dermot McAleese, emeritus professor of economics at Trinity College, Dublin, says that the emergence of the Progressive Democrats in 1985 may have had a more positive influence on the economy than some recognise. He argues the low-tax, pro-business economy we know today is based in large part on Progressive Democrat policies. "They proved that there was a constituency for this, and they gave the intellectual power to it." (The Irish Times, 31 December 2004). However it was Labour Minister for Finance Ruairí Quinn, and not the PDs, who introduced the much applauded corporation tax rate of 12.5% in his 1994-97 tenure. His plan was, though, accelerated by the Fianna Fáil-PD coalition government that took power in 1997.
The party is often described as right-wing. Party leaders reject the idea that they are ruled by ideology alone. Former party leader Michael McDowell has said that he sees liberalism as not being on the left-right spectrum as it is a mix of the ideals of both. Mary Harney, on becoming health minister said ''"I don't get my politics from any ideology, I get it from my experience and common sense"''. . Yet Harney has been a controversial minister who has attempted to extend private influence in the health service and McDowell's campaign in the recent general election was particularly notable for the strong attacks he made on left-wing parties.
Despite espousing liberal social policies and having in its ranks the openly gay Colm O'Gorman, the Progressive Democrats do not at the present time support the right of same-sex couples to marry. Instead, they claim to propose legislating for civil union. This policy is consistent with that of the other Irish political parties, with the exception of the Green Party and Sinn Féin, both of which back gay marriage. However attempts by the Labour Party to legislate for civil unions in the last Dáil were forestalled by PD Justice Minister, Michael McDowell.
Both Progressive Democrats and other commentators have suggested that the party has had a greater influence on government policy since 1997 than might be expected from its size. This belief appears to have some basis – as of September 2004 the party controlled two of the most important cabinet positions (Justice and Health) despite having less than one-tenth of the seats of its coalition partner Fianna Fáil.
In a 2000 speech to the American Bar Association, the then party leader, Mary Harney, appeared to express a desire that Ireland become ''"closer to Boston than Berlin"'',^[11] adopting US free market models for economic development, health, education, and other services rather than European Continental models because she believed that the continental countries (such as Germany and France), while having more equality had bad economies and high unemployment. She said that the economic growth did not come at the cost of society.

Leadership

Leader

★ Des O'Malley (1985–1992)

★ Mary Harney (1993–2006)

★ Michael McDowell (2006–2007)

★ Mary Harney (2007–present)

Deputy Leader

★ Michael Keating (1986–1989)

★ Pearse Wyse (1989–1992)

★ Pat Cox (1992–1994)

★ Liz O'Donnell (2006–2007)

★ Noel Grealish (2007–present)

President

★ Michael McDowell (2002–2006)

★ Tom Parlon (2006–2007)