Patrick Nulty (born 18 November 1982) is a teacher, university lecturer and former Irish Labour Party politician. He was elected as 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, Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms s ...

(TD) for

Dublin West Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cens ...

at a by-election in October 2011. He sat as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

TD after losing the Labour Party whip on 6 December 2011. He resigned as a TD on 24 March 2014 after sending several sexually inappropriate messages to domestic abuse victims in his constituency and a 17-year-old girl.

Biography

Nulty was born and raised in Corduff near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. When two weeks old, he was injured in a house fire, leaving him with burn scars on his face and arms. He attended Riversdale

Community College A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

and has a degree in

social policy Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...

from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and a Masters in Social Science from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. He worked as a social policy advisor for a homeless charity for five years. He is also a former National Chairperson 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 Party in 1979, under Party L ...

and was a prominent activist of the Students' Union in Trinity.

Political career

Labour Youth

A leading member of Labour Youth's re-foundation in the early 2000s, Nulty served in Labour Youth as the National Chairman, Communications Officer and Gender Equality Officer. Nulty led a campaign while in Trinity Labour Youth against the sexual harassment of female students on campus. Throughout Nulty's career in the Labour Party, he had been a vocal supporter of Labour Youth and was regular speakers at the annual Labour Youth Tom Johnson Summer School.

County Council

Nulty was elected to

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...

for Labour at the 2009 local elections in the Mulhuddart

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average ...

Dáil

He was Labour's unsuccessful second candidate for

at the 2011 general election, where running-mate

Joan Burton Joan Burton (born 1 February 1949) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Social Protection from 2011 to 2016, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from ...

topped the poll, but was elected as a

(TD) for

at a by-election in October 2011. It was the first time since 1982 that a government party candidate had won a by-election. He was on the Labour Party's left wing, and opposed both the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member st ...

and Labour's coalition deal with

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and 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 � ...

after the election. He also rejected the idea of a transfer pact with the Fine Gael candidate despite the parties' coalition. While in opposition he called on his former colleagues to legislate for the X case as had been promised by Labour for many years. Nulty voted against the VAT increase in the 2012 budget and lost the Labour Party

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

as a result. He was described as a "Labour rebel candidate" by the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet n ...

'', while ''

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

'' quoted the label "anti-government Government candidate" discussing his opposition to cuts in services at

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest u ...

Hospital. On 21 June 2013, he resigned from the Labour Party.

Resignation as TD

He resigned from the Dáil on 24 March 2014 as a result of having sent inappropriate Facebook messages to a 17-year-old female, and to two other adult women. At first he denied that he was the sender of the messages, and claimed that his phone had been hacked, but subsequently admitted his behaviour when confronted with evidence that the messages had been sent from

Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...

. Nulty apologised for his behaviour and said the "message was sent while under the influence of alcohol". In September 2015 he was awarded a teaching scholarship by the University of Limerick to undertake a PhD in Politics and Public Administration. He now works full time for that university as a researcher and tutor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nulty, Patrick 1982 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin Independent TDs Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Local councillors in Fingal Members of the 31st Dáil Politicians from Fingal