Billy Timmins (born 1 October 1959) is an Irish former politician. He was a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

constituency from 1997 until the 2016 general election. He was the deputy leader of Renua from the foundation of the party in March 2015 until May 2016. He previously sat as an Independent TD, having lost the

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

parliamentary party whip in July 2013.

Background

Timmins was born in Baltinglass,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. He was educated at Patrician College, Ballyfin, County Laois; at

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

where he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and Legal Science; and at the Military College, Curragh. Timmins served as an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer, serving in Counties

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Donegal and

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

and with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. Timmins was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

for the

constituency at the 1997 general election, succeeding his father Godfrey Timmins who had retired. On his election to the Dáil, he became party spokesperson on Defence, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Relief. He was elected to Wicklow County Council for the Baltinglass area in 1999 and served until 2004. In 2000 he became party spokesperson on Housing. Following the 2002 general election he was appointed spokesperson on Agriculture and Food. In Enda Kenny's front bench reshuffle in 2004 he received the Defence spokesperson portfolio. He was party spokesperson on

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

from 2007 to 2010. In June 2010 he supported Richard Bruton's leadership challenge to Enda Kenny. Following Kenny's victory in a motion of confidence, Timmins was not re-appointed to the front bench. From October 2010 to March 2011 he was party deputy spokesperson on Social Protection with special responsibility for Pension and Welfare Reform. Timmins was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party on 2 July 2013 when he defied the party whip by voting against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013. On 13 September 2013 he and six other expellees formed the Reform Alliance, most of whose supporters moved on to its successor Renua Ireland. He stood as a Renua candidate at the 2016 general election, but lost his seat. In May 2016, he announced his resignation from Renua. Timmins rejoined the Fine Gael party in April 2018 and on 11 May 2018 was selected, along with Andrew Doyle and Simon Harris, to be a Fine Gael candidate for Wicklow for the next general election. He was an unsuccessful Fine Gael candidate for the Wicklow constituency at the 2020 general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timmins, Billy 1959 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Fine Gael TDs Independent TDs Irish Anglicans Irish Army officers Members of Wicklow County Council Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Politicians from County Wicklow Renua TDs People from Baltinglass

Background

See also

References