Ruth Coppinger

Ruth Coppinger TD
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office May 2014
Constituency	Dublin West
Personal details
Born	18 April 1967 Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Socialist Party
Spouse(s)	Imran Khan
Children	1
Alma mater	Loreto Beaufort, Rathfarnham and University College Dublin

Ruth Coppinger is an Irish Anti-Austerity Alliance politician. She was elected for Dublin West as a Teachta Dála (TD) at the 2014 Dublin West by-election. She was re-elected at the 2016 general election and became the first woman to be nominated for the role of Taoiseach. She is a member of the Socialist Party.

Political career

Coppinger was a member of Fingal County Council for the Mulhuddart area from 2003 to 2014.^[1] She was co-opted to the council in 2003, replacing Joe Higgins. She was elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2009. She was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2011 Dublin West by-election.^[1]

She later joined party colleague Joe Higgins in the Dáil as a result of the 2014 by-election in the same constituency.^[2][3] On being elected, she called for a mass campaign of opposition to water charges being imposed by the Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition.^[4]

In September 2015, she joined homeless families from Blanchardstown in occupying a Nama-controlled property as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the housing crisis.^[5] In October 2015, she joined families in their occupation of a show house in her constituency to protest at the lack of availability of affordable social housing.^[6] She has also supported the tenants of Tyrrelstown who were made homeless when a Goldman Sachs vulture fund sold their houses.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

On 21 January 2016, Coppinger's house was burgled - she told RTÉ the following day: "When I arrived home at nine o'clock last night, the house had been rifled through."^[12][13]

She was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2016 general election, this time under the Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit banner.^[14] On 10 March 2016, at the first sitting of the 32nd Dáil, she nominated Richard Boyd Barrett for the role of Taoiseach, quoting James Connolly from a hundred years previously when she said: "The day has passed for patching up the capitalist system. It must go" and declaring: "We will not vote for the identical twin candidates" of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil after they "imposed austerity".^[15] On 6 April 2016, following the failure of the Dáil to elect a Taoiseach at that first sitting, she herself was nominated for the role of Taoiseach, becoming the first woman to achieve this in the history of the state.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Personal life

Coppinger lives in Mulhuddart. She is married to Imran Khan^[20] and is a secondary school teacher.^[21] Her eldest brother Eugene Coppinger serves on Fingal County Council.^[22]

References

1. "Ruth Coppinger". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
2. "Coppinger wins Dublin West by-election". RTÉ News. 24 May 2014.
3. O'Connor, Niall (25 May 2014). "Ruth Coppinger's victory doubles Socialist Party's voice in Dail". Irish Independent.
4. McCarthaigh, Sean (24 May 2014). "Coppinger: Win is a result for ordinary working people". BreakingNews.ie.
5. "Group occupies Nama-controlled property to raise awareness of homelessness". Irish Independent. 22 September 2015.
6. "Dail deputy Ruth Coppinger and homeless families 'occupy' West Dublin show house". Irish Independent. 3 October 2015.
7. "Tyrrelstown tenants organise protest today". The Sunday Business Post. 22 March 2016.
8. Edwards, Elaine (18 March 2016). "Families begin to leave Tyrrelstown estate as leases not renewed: Residents meeting tonight agree to protest march on the Dáil next Tuesday". The Irish Times.
9. "Tyrrelstown tenants meeting over eviction notices". RTÉ News. 14 March 2016.
10. Lennon, Barry (17 March 2016). "Pressure on Kelly to help families facing eviction". Irish Independent.
11. "Tyrrelstown Tenants Action Group calls for government intervention". BreakingNews.ie. 19 March 2016.
12. "Ruth Coppinger reveals house burglary live on RTÉ". RTÉ News. 22 January 2016.
13. Treacy, Ciara (22 January 2016). "Dublin TD Ruth Coppinger's home burgled while she was on the radio". Irish Independent.
14. "Election 2016: Ruth Coppinger". RTÉ. 27 February 2016.
15. McQuinn, Cormac (10 March 2016). "Parties nominate their leaders to be the next Taoiseach". Irish Independent.
16. "Ruth Coppinger will become the first woman nominated for Taoiseach". 5 April 2016.
17. "Ireland will have its first ever female Taoiseach nominee on Wednesday". 5 April 2016.
18. "Ruth Coppinger set to make Irish political history this afternoon". 6 April 2016.
19. "Left Wing TD Ruth Coppinger will be the first woman ever nominated for Taoiseach today". 6 April 2016.
20. "Coppinger makes dramatic entrance". The Sunday Times. 25 May 2014.
21. "About Ruth". Official website. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012.
22. Murphy, Cormac (27 May 2014). "Fingal County council: Final counts filled overnight". Irish Independent. Eugene Coppinger, brother of new Dublin West TD Ruth Coppinger, had a successful campaign. Mr Coppinger, a Socialist Part[y] and Anti-Austerity Alliance candidate, said the whole family is proud of his little sister Ruth's achievement.

External links

• Coppinger, Ruth. "Resentment over property tax is palpable", The Irish Times. 14 May 2014