Ivan Yates

Ivan Yates (born 23 October 1959) is an Irish broadcaster, businessman and former politician. He was elected as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency at the 1981 general election and at each election until his retirement from politics in 2002. He also served as Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry from 1994 to 1997. Since 2009, Yates has been active as a political commentator.

Early life

Yates was born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford. He was educated at Aravon School, Bray; St. Columba's Church of Ireland College in Rathfarnham, Dublin; and Gurteen College, County Tipperary.

Political career

Local politics

Yates first gained political office in 1978 at the age of 18 when he secured a seat on Enniscorthy Urban Council as a member of Fine Gael, capturing the post by just 13 votes.

National politics

When he was first elected to the Dáil in 1981, Yates was the youngest member of the 22nd Dáil and is also the fifth-youngest ever member of Dáil Éireann at the age of 21. He became involved in local politics when he became a member of Wexford County Council, serving until 1995 and again from 1999 to 2004. He joined the Fine Gael front bench in 1988 and was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when the party came to power in 1994.

Yates oversaw a particularly difficult period for Irish agriculture. Farmers saw the prices they received for their produce plummet; he stopped live animal exports in response to controversy over cruelty in shipping, and took on the Irish Veterinary Union over the tuberculosis eradication scheme. He also had to deal with a sharp rise in the number of BSE cases during 1996, and the consequent banning of Irish beef by Russia. When John Bruton resigned as leader of Fine Gael in January 2001, there was much speculation that Yates would be a contender for the vacant position. Instead, he announced to his colleagues that he was leaving full-time politics to concentrate on his family and business interests and that he would not be contesting the next general election.

He receives annual pension payments of €74,836 from his time in politics.

Business career

Yates was the chairman and managing director of Celtic Bookmakers, an Irish chain of betting shops, and expanded the company from its Wexford base to a chain of 64 shops around the country at its peak. On 4 January 2011, it was announced that the company had gone into receivership.

He headed a group of bookmakers in a court case against the British Horseracing Board (BHB) over fees for licences to access a racing information database in 2005. The issue was resolved in the High Court with the termination of the BHB's licence agreement and a payment of €300,000 to the bookmakers, who were reported to have access to the BHB's former database until 9 January 2006.

In 2011, he described the Irish bankruptcy process as "purgatory", and publicly announced that he was contemplating moving to the UK to avail of the British bankruptcy process.

On 21 August 2012, the High Court in Dublin dismissed an attempt by Allied Irish Banks to have him declared bankrupt.

In September 2013, it was announced that Yates was discharged from bankruptcy, having fulfilled the requirements set down by Swansea County Court, where he made his application for personal insolvency on 24 August 2012.

Media work

Yates co-presented the Newstalk breakfast show from 2009, firstly with Claire Byrne and subsequently with Chris Donoghue. On 23 March 2012, he announced he would be leaving both the station and his column in the ''Irish Examiner'' with effect from 6 April 2012, to concentrate on his personal finances. He also presented '' Tonight with Vincent Browne'' on TV3 during summer 2011.

He returned to Newstalk in September 2013, once again co-presenting the breakfast show with Chris Donoghue.

Yates is a regular conference speaker, motivational speaker and MC at business events in Ireland. He is a client of Noel Kelly, of NK Management.

Yates co-hosted '' The Tonight Show'' on TV3 and presented ''The Hard Shoulder'' on Newstalk until his retirement from broadcasting in July 2020. Kieran Cuddihy replaced Yates as the host of ''The Hard Shoulder'' in September 2020.

Persona

Reviewing Yates' media persona in 2018, Mick Heaney of the '' Irish Times'' summarised that while Yates presents himself as a quippy right-wing "Liberal-baiter", his tendency is to interview left-leaning guests and eventually concede to their points or praise them after being initially sceptical of their view. Heaney suggested that Yates is more interested in challenging political orthodoxy in Ireland than being an ideologue.

Political views

Speaking in 2010, Yates recalled how he decided which Irish political party he would choose to join in the late 1970s; Yates stated he wasn't a socialist, so that ruled out the Labour Party, and he didn't feel a deep connection to the Easter Rising of 1916, so that ruled out Fianna Fáil. That left Yates with Fine Gael. Yates was considered to be apart the emerging Liberal wing of the party which was being spearheaded by Garrett FitzGerald.

In 2025 Yates identifies as centre-right and has stated that Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher are his ideological guiding lights. Yates stated he is supportive to the American Republican Party and Donald Trump, although he disagreed with Trump's economic policies such as the use of tariffs.

Detached from Irish nationalism, Yates has quipped that he is "rightly condemned as West British" and doesn't care for Irish republicanism. In 2024 Yates stated he has no interest in learning the Irish language and felt too many resources are spent by the Irish state towards the upkeep of the language.

Personal life

Yates is a member of the Church of Ireland. Yates is married to Deirdre (whom he credits for his success in multiple professions); together they have 3 children.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Ivan
1959 births
20th-century Irish businesspeople
21st-century Irish businesspeople
Bookmakers
Broadcasters from County Wexford
Fine Gael TDs
Irish Anglicans
Living people
Members of Wexford County Council
Members of the 22nd Dáil
Members of the 23rd Dáil
Members of the 24th Dáil
Members of the 25th Dáil
Members of the 26th Dáil
Members of the 27th Dáil
Members of the 28th Dáil
Ministers for agriculture of Ireland
Newstalk presenters
People educated at St Columba's College, Dublin
People from Enniscorthy
Politicians from County Wexford
Virgin Media Television (Ireland) presenters