Rory Hearne (born ) is an Irish

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

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

Dublin North-West Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

constituency since the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. He was previously an academic known for his work on the Irish housing crisis.

Education and career

He attended

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

where he earned a first class honours degree in Geography in 2000 and subsequently a Ph.D. in 2009. While at Trinity he was elected president of

Trinity College Dublin Students' Union Trinity College Dublin Students' Union ( Irish: ''Aontas Mac Léinn Choláiste na Tríonóide''), often referred to by its abbreviation TCDSU ( Irish: ''AMLCT''), is a students' union and the recognised representative body for the students of Trin ...

. He also served as the vice-president of the

Union of Students in Ireland Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

. He works as associate professor in social policy at

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

. He has commentated on social and economic issues in media outlets such as the ''

Tonight with Vincent Browne ''Tonight with Vincent Browne'' (formerly ''Nightly News with Vincent Browne'') was a news analysis, Current affairs (news format), current affairs and politics programme which was broadcast on Republic of Ireland, Ireland's Virgin Media One, T ...

'' television programme and in op-eds for the ''Irish Examiner'', ''The Irish Times'' and ''The Guardian'' newspapers. Hearne has publicly criticised 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 ...

and

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

parties who led every government during his career. Hearne has been cited as an authority on the housing crisis by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. His book on the housing crisis, ''Gaffs'' was released in 2022 and became a bestseller.

Political campaigns

Hearne was a founding member of the

People Before Profit Alliance People Before Profit (, PBP) is a Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. The party is active in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. History As Socialist Environmental Alliance People Before Profit was established in 200 ...

in 2005, and ran unsuccessfully as their candidate in the

Dublin South-East Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin i ...

constituency in 2007. He spent three months as a member of the Labour Party before resigning in 2011 in protest at their decision to form a governing coalition with Fine Gael as the

Government of the 31st Dáil The 29th government of Ireland (9 March 2011 – 6 May 2016) was the government of Ireland which was formed following the 2011 general election to the 31st Dáil on 25 February 2011. It was a coalition government of Fine Gael and the Labour P ...

. He ran unsuccessfully for the Seanad as an independent for the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

constituency in 2016 (finishing 11th), and again in 2020 (finishing 7th). Hearne joined the

in 2024, and was their candidate at the

2024 European Parliament election The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...

for the Midlands–North-West constituency, where he secured 15,023 (2.2%) first preference votes and was eliminated after the 12th count. Hearne received media attention during the campaign for his criticism of Ciaran Mullooly of

Independent Ireland Independent Ireland is a right-wing political party in Ireland. It was formed on 8 November 2023 by former independent TDs Michael Collins and Richard O'Donoghue. Their elected representation was subsequently boosted by the joining of TD M ...

(who went on to win a seat) for what Hearne saw as Mullooly's scapegoating of migrants rather than focusing on the causes of the housing crisis. At the

, Hearne was elected for the

constituency, where retiring party leader party leader

Róisín Shortall Róisín Shortall (born 25 April 1954) is an Irish former Social Democrats politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency from 1992 to 2024. She was previously founding joint leader of the Social Democrats ...

had held a seat since 1992.

Political views

Hearne is a critic of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's housing policies, which he describes as a form of "social vandalism". Hearne advocates for housing policy that prioritises the needs of vulnerable groups, including young people, renters, and those facing homelessness. He has been particularly critical of investor funds and property developers, whom he believes have exacerbated the housing shortage. Hearne advocates for a state-led approach to housing development, proposing the establishment of a state developer to build homes rather than relying on the Land Development Agency, which he criticises as being " NAMA 2.0". In addition to housing, Hearne is concerned with broader social issues, such as

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, workers' rights, and the rise of the far right. He opposes anti-immigrant rhetoric and believes the Irish government, alongside other political parties, has failed to adequately address these concerns. On European issues, Hearne supports the European Union's stance against the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

and has condemned Putin's Russia as "Imperialist". Hearne is a supporter of Palestinian rights and has condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, as well as the perceived inaction of the US government under

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Personal life

Hearne is married with four children, and has lived in North Dublin for over 20 years. Hearne disclosed on an episode of podcast ''

The Two Norries ''The Two Norries'' was a weekly podcast hosted by Timmy Long and James Leonard that focused on trauma, mental health, addiction, prison systems, recovery and access to education. The podcast series was recorded and released between June 2020 a ...

'' published in November 2022 that he had been the victim of sexual abuse as a teenager by a perpetrator in his community who was later convicted and imprisoned.

Bibliography

*''Gaffs: Why no one can get a house, and what we can do about it'' (2022)

References

External links

Hearne's professional profile
at Maynooth University
Reboot Republic
Hearne's podcast {{DEFAULTSORT:Hearne, Rory Living people 1970s births Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish scholars and academics People Before Profit politicians Labour Party (Ireland) politicians Social Democrats (Ireland) TDs Members of the 34th Dáil Year of birth missing (living people)