VETERAN Labour Party MEP Proinsias De Rossa, who will stand down next month after 30 years as an elected public representative, had been thinking of retiring at the last European elections in 2009.
“But I was persuaded there was work I still had to do and I agreed,” he said last night.
Speaking at the European Parliament buildings in Strasbourg last night, Mr De Rossa, who will be 72 in May, said he feels now “is a good to time to go. I was elected to the Dáil for the first time 30 years ago in February 1982 and it’s a question really of personal reasons.
“It will also give Emer [Costello, his substitute] a good chance before the next European elections in 2014.”
Ms Costello is married to Labour Minister of State Joe Costello. Her sister Mary Moran is a Taoiseach’s nominee to the Seanad and another sister Gráinne Malone became a District Court judge in November.
Reflecting on his own political journey from joining the IRA in the 1950s to being an elected public representative this past 30 years, he said it was “a question of evolution. If you didn’t mature and develop as a politician you’d end up imposing a bizarre ideology on people.”
Ideologically he had always been a socialist, believing in solidarity, human rights and progress, he said. He “would be happier if the citizens of Europe voted for left-of-centre parties rather than right-of-centre ones but, clearly, people are fearful of change”.
The most satisfying part of his career was probably as a minister for social welfare and party leader in the 1994-1997 rainbow coalition. He was also proud of his work from 2000 at the Convention on the Future of Europe, which produced the draft European constitution and Lisbon Treaty.
He found being an MEP “very satisfying, particularly when compared to being an opposition TD”.
In the Dáil “you have to create a row every day whereas in the European Parliament you have to make an agreement every day”, he said.
He remains optimistic on the future of both Europe and the euro. “The appalling scenario of failure, a reversion to the 1930s, would be disastrous. Once the crunch is finally reached the governments, including the UK, will step back from the brink.”
Asked about his public disagreement with Labour MEP Nessa Childers over the appointment of former Department of Finance secretary general Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors, which he supported and she did not, he said it was “a minor row as far as I’m concerned. There was no high politics involved.”
Ms Childers has made a formal complaint to the party about Mr De Rossa but last night declined to comment on the issue. Ms Childers only heard a few hours earlier about Mr De Rossa’s announcement and is reviewing the issue. Tánaiste and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore described Mr De Rossa as an inspiration and a great campaigning politician.
A CAREER IN POLITICS KEY EVENTS
Joined the IRA in 1956 aged 16, jailed almost immediately;
Founded the Dublin Housing Action Committee in the 1960s;
Joined Official Sinn Féin in 1970 split;
Stood for Dáil election in 1977 for Sinn Féin the Workers’ Party;
First elected to the Dáil in 1982 in Dublin North West;
Elected party leader in 1987;
Elected to both the Dáil and the European Parliament in 1989;
Resigned from Workers’ Party in 1992 split and became leader of new party Democratic Left;
Stood down as an MEP in 1992; succeeded by Des Geraghty;
In 1994 became minister for social welfare in the rainbow government and served for three years. Introduced the first national anti-poverty strategy;
Became president of the Labour Party in 1999 when Democratic Left merged with Labour;
1999 Supreme Court ruled in his favour, after he won record £300,000 damages in a High Court libel action for a column written by Eamon Dunphy in the Sunday Independentin 1992;
Became an MEP again in the 1999 European elections and vice-president of the European socialists for the 1999-2004 term;
Retired from the Dáil in 2002;
Was a member of the European Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002-2003 which led to the Lisbon treaty;
Currently chair of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Palestinian legislative council.
– MARIE O’HALLORAN
