Gerald Henry Nash (born 7 December 1975) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been 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

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

constituency since

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, and previously from 2011 to 2016. Nash became a member of Drogheda Borough Council in 2000 and Louth County Council in 2002, serving on both until his election to the Dáil in 2011. He served as Minister of State for Business and Employment from 2014 to 2016. After losing his seat at the 2016 general election, Nash was elected to the Seanad and was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

from 2016 to 2020. He was re-elected to the Dáil in 2020.

Early life

Nash was born on 7 December 1975. His father was a

union representative A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the un ...

in a factory and active in the Labour Party. He attended St. Joseph's

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, Drogheda and graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in politics and history from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. Before entering politics, Nash was a

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

consultant to

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s and the

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sector, running the PR firm McCormack Nash in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. He also worked as the manager of the Upstate Theatre Project company in Drogheda, as a teacher in St. Oliver's Community College in Drogheda and as an advisor to

Nessa Childers Nessa Maria Vereker Childers (born 9 October 1956) is an Irish former independent politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 to 2019. Early life She is the daughter of the fourth President of Ireland, Erskine ...

during her tenure in the

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Political career

Nash joined the Labour Party as a student in University College Dublin. He is a former National Secretary of

Labour Youth Labour Youth is the youth wing of the Labour Party of Ireland. Membership is open to those aged from 16 to 30 years old. History 1979–2000 Labour Youth succeeded the Young Labour League as a full section of the Labour Party in 1979, unde ...

. During the 2002 referendum on the Treaty of Nice, Nash was part of Drogheda Young Alliance for Yes, an interparty group which called for a "Yes" vote.

Councillor and mayor of Drogheda (2000–2011)

Nash was co-opted onto Drogheda Borough Council in 2000 to replace retiring councillor Patsy Kirwan, and served on the council until 2011. He was a member of Louth County Council for the

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

from 2002 to 2011, serving as mayor of Drogheda from 2004 to 2005. Nash contested the 2007 general election in the

constituency but was not elected, receiving 2,739 votes (4.98% of the vote).

Dáil Éireann (2011–2016)

He was elected as a Labour Party TD for the Louth constituency at the 2011 general election. He lost his seat at the 2016 general election.

Minister of State

In July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, with responsibility for small and medium business, collective bargaining and low pay commission. He attended cabinet meetings as a non-voting member, a position described as a Super Junior Minister. While a Minister of State, Nash commissioned the first major independent study of zero and low-hour contracts in the Irish labour market. The research was carried out by the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

and published in November 2015.

Seanad Éireann (2016–2020)

In April 2016, Nash was elected to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

on the

. Party leader

Brendan Howlin Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), Leader of the Labour Party from 2016 to 2020, Minister for Public Expenditure, National Devel ...

appointed him as Labour Party Spokesperson on Equality, and Labour Affairs and Workers Rights. As of October 2023, Nash is Labour's party spokesperson on finance. In 2018, Nash put forward a bill to issue an apology to men who had been convicted of homosexual offences prior to its decriminalisation in 1993. The motion received all-party support, and Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

delivered an apology to the Dáil later that year. Nash put forward a bill in 2019 which aimed to provide greater protection for low paid workers, reform Joint Labour Committees and give the Labour Court the ability to set rates of pay above the minimum wage in low paid sectors of the economy.

Return to Dáil (2020–)

Nash was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2020 general election, with Simon Carswell of

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

attributing his election to "four years of local campaigning on issues such as fighting gangland crime and improving Drogheda’s water infrastructure". After Brendan Howlin announced his intention to step down as leader of the Labour Party, Nash was considered a potential candidate for the party leadership race. However, he ruled himself out shortly afterwards, saying "There is a responsibility on my local Dáil colleagues and I to work night and day both locally and nationally to fix them. This is where my immediate focus must lie". Nash nominated Aodhán Ó Ríordáin for the position of leader. He was re-elected at the 2024 general election.

Personal life

Nash is a director of Drogheda Youth Development, the Calipo Theatre and Picture Company, a Member of Board of the Droichead Arts Centre, a member of Drogheda Rotary Club and a former member of Louth VEC. Nash has

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

, which he was diagnosed with in 1990, and has spoken about being bullied as a teenager for it.

References

External links

Gerald Nash's page on the Labour Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Gerald 1975 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of Louth County Council Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 25th Seanad Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil Politicians from County Louth Labour Party (Ireland) senators People with Crohn's disease Labour Panel senators Labour Party (Ireland) local councillors Members of the 34th Dáil