Mayo native Rabbitte removed from cabinet

Labour TD for Dublin South West Pat Rabbitte - a native of Mayo - has lost his ministerial position in today’s cabinet reshuffle.

Deputy Rabbitte was appointed the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources on March 9, 2011, following that year’s general election, in which he was elected on the first count in his constituency.

Fellow Labour Party TD Alex White will replace Deputy Rabbitte as the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

Responding to the announcement, Deputy Rabbitte said ‘age and chemistry’ had played a part in his removal from cabinet. He wished the government well and claimed the country would have been worse off if Labour had not entered the fray during the economic crash.

The former minister grew up in Ballindine and attended St. Colman’s College, Claremorris, before studying arts and law at UCG (now NUIG). He was elected to Dublin County Council in 1985 and first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1989 as a Workers’ Party TD for Dublin South West. He has retained his seat at every election since, as a Workers’ Party TD, then a Democratic Left TD and finally a Labour TD.

Deputy Rabbitte served in government as a junior minister with the Rainbow Coalition of Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left from 1994 to 1997. In October 2002 he succeeded Ruairi Quinn as Labour Party leader following the merger of that party and Democratic Left in 1998.