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FINE GAEL TD Jerry Buttimer has said that publicly disclosing that he is gay was the right thing to do as his decision was praised by Dáil colleagues on both sides of the chamber this morning.
The Cork South Central TD has disclosed his sexuality in an interview with the Irish Examiner today and has sought to play down the relevance of it by saying that he is a TD who just happens to be gay.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast this morning, he said: ”I made a decision that to have credibility it was the right thing to do and so yeah it took time, it took a while, and we as a political party made a decision to launch a Fine Gael group.”
He was speaking about the Fine Gael LGBT Group which was launched at the weekend and aims to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people within the party and to promote the adoption of equality policies by the party.
The chairman of the Oireachtas Health Committee said: “Fine Gael has made a statement that we stand for all of our children, all of our people.
“As a party now, we’re prepared to look at the constitutional convention and have a look at what it means to be gay, what it means to have equality and social justice and human rights upheld within our country.”
Buttimer said that he supports the eventual introduction of gay marriage in Ireland and told the Irish Examiner that he views civil partnership as “a stepping stone”. His stance was welcomed by Marriage Equality.
Buttimer is the third TD to disclose that he is gay following Labour’s Dominic Hannigan and John Lyons. He said it was not an easy thing to do for some people and added it was a matter for each individual to disclose their sexuality but said that he felt attitudes were changing.
He added: “I made a decision based upon what I thought was right both for the Fine Gael party and for the people that I represent. I am not just a politician who is gay, I am a person. It’s part of me, it’s not all of what I am.”
Buttimer’s disclosure has been praised by colleagues in the Dáil, some of whom tweeted about it this morning including the independent TD Luke Ming Flanagan:
The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) has also welcomed Buttimer’s comments today saying that it hoped more public representatives would follow suit.
Kieran Rose, GLEN Chair, said: ”We look forward to more and more coming out; and being in leadership positions, including at Cabinet level.”
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an honest TD? it’ll never catch on…
and fair play
This is wrong 100%, this is just a bit of cheap p.r. on his behalf , if he was so proud of his gayness why did he not announce it when he was running for t.d., next time round he will not be so lucky , as if things in ireland are not bad enough without this type of public attention seeking rant, at the end of the day , who really cares ?Ming showing his support says it all !!!!!! nothing to do and all day to do it
@Heywood Jablome Get real will like them or loathe them politicans are only human like the rest of us.
Ahh get a life Heywood.
The rest of the planet don’t get everything right the first day in their lives. He had challenges to face and he faced them in his own way, that is all anyone can do.
Fair play to him for doing so.
P.S. What is the betting that Michael Martin will be pushing one of his TD’s to suddenly announce that they are Gay too, just started being gay last Tuesday. Look at Us, we’re modern hip FF.
Who cares these days what your sexual leanings are these days?
Buttimer also has 2 jobs , retained his teaching post as well as the T.D. job, now isnt that nice to see when so many young teachers are finding it hard to get contracts,Get real and see this a a cheap p.r stunt which will backfire on him , nice to see all the gay loving 2 job supporting friends here giving support to G.B , greedy boy
Fair play to him is right maybe this will give courage to more people to come out and not be afraid ….
Strongbow62
I agree I couldn’t give a rats arse about anybody’s sex life/orientation, except mine, each to his own etc. Yawn yawn, get on with it!
Well done! The more people come out, the easier it is for others who are still a bit wary.
@ All
The one person that these TDs’ and many others must thank is Senator David Norris. It was David Norris that fought long and hard for things to change in Ireland. He fought a lone battle for many years and has managed almost singled handedly to overthrow the anti-homosexual law in 1988 which took him 14 years to do! He was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland.
He has made it possible for many young people to live in peace in this country and feel good about themselves and their future. When people are congratulating Jerry Buttirmer, Dominic Hannigan and John Lyons, they should remember that it was against the law to be gay when David Norris was a young man, living a very lonely, fearful life and realise he made it possible for them to live a normal life.
@Sheila. Whilst I agree with you didn’t do it alone. thanks need to go to them as well
I don’t care if he’s gay or not, makes no difference to me whatsoever. However, I’m absolutely disgusted to discover he’s a teacher.
Bloody hell, can we please stop electing so many from this profession to the Dáil?
Lol……… laugh for the day, thanks Tom!
I think it shows how much Ireland has moved on when a man can freely admit to being a member of Fine Gael.
P.
Not that I don’t admire him. But id admire him more if he showed a bit more honest conviction about gay marriage and simply stated that there is literally no reason right NOW why we shouldn’t push for gay marriage.
Being gay may only be a part of who he is, but being a politician is also a part of who he is ;)
Fair play….more like you please. Nothing worse than living a lie :-)
More like you ? … So you want more gay politicians in govt ??
What would be the problem with more gay politicians, Craig?
Well firstly I thought Anthony was calling for more honest tds not more gay ones but now that you mention it. If there are now 3 open gay tds and 10% of a given population have a homosexual tendency albeit open or latent there are potentially another 13 tds yet to acknowledge their true orientation. Where is their outlet for this repression or how do they hide a possible gay relationship or lifestyle ? Another thing you can assume is this didn’t just happen it was discussed with Enda and company and decided it would assist or at least not damage the yes campaign, ie; I’ve been honest now stop being undecided and be honest like us ! Finally, our orientation is an important aspect of how we choose to deal with the other gender. What would be the ideal tolerable number of gay tds that society would accept ? – 10%, 50% ? The same question may be posed for any occupation. The issue is not their gayness but their attitude to facing up to the socially accepted ideal of between gender relationships designed to forward the human population even though technology has removed that aspect from the debate. Although would it be an ideal society to have procreation without between gender sex ? IMO homosexuality is a lot like Catholicism, the majority are but some of us lapse !
Craig, only about 4% of men are gay. I don’t know what the story is with women, I suspect it’s more complex.
@Craig: You WHAT?! “Where is their outlet for this repression or how do they hide a possible gay relationship or lifestyle?” I don’t get this: why *should* they hide a relationship or lifestyle? And what do you mean by “outlet for their repression”?
Then there’s “their attitude to facing up to the socially accepted ideal of between gender relationships designed to forward the human population ” and “ideal tolerable number of gay tds ” Unbelieveable! Swap the word gay for ‘female’, say, or ‘black’ and see how far you get. What the hell has procreation got to do with anything? There always were and always will be childless TDs. And “tolerable number”…. Sheesh. It’s hard to know whether you’re *trying* to be offensive or just plain ignorant.
Well done! An Irish politician not hiding behind slithering falsehoods. How refreshing!
Would be nice if the country’s spiritual leaders displayed same courage and openness.
Honesty invariably pays off.
With a name like that he was always likely to stray to the camp side. Will be interesting to see if he gets voted in next time around. That should be a good indication of how Ireland views homosexuality in the twenty first century. I’m guessing he won’t get in.
Come the next election, his sexuality will be the least of his re-election concerns, given he’s a member of fine gael.
“With a name like that he was always likely to stray to the camp side.” Oh, Brendan, you’re HILARIOUS <— sarcasm.
Yes that’s a very unfortunate surname alright. He’ll be the butt of a few jokes around Cork for the next while and having a but-timer could be even worse butt I think we should just leave it at that :)
And is Richard your middle name
I’m very glad that this man felt he could come out , personally I don’t know why anybody has to “come out”. Why can’t it just be as normal as a straight person starting out on their sexual journey. They dont have to announce ” I’m straight” . For me true equality will only happen when people are who they are and nobody will have to make any announcements . I think that maybe it’s good for people who may be uncertain , to see a public figure saying they are gay, but other than that I don’t see why people have to. And as he said ts not what makes him who he is, his politics would be of more Interest to me if he wars to represent us in the dail. His sexuality is his business .
Being Gay – no problem Jerry ! – but admitting to being a Member of the present Government ! – I think that you should keep that very quiet – its like admitting to being a Member of FF reincarnated !
I couldn’t give a monkies that he’s gay. The fact is he has 2 jobs, 2 salaries and benefits when there’s equally qualified unemployed people that could take his teaching position
Did he not give up his teaching position?
Nah, he’s not getting his teaching salary. On the teachers-in-government issue, I have a problem with a teacher (or any public servant) getting a career break to be a TD. My civil servant son can’t even canvass for a local TD (not that he’d want to) and they have to keep a distance from all things political. If he was so inclined, he could take a career break, but that’s for a maximum of 5 years. How come these teachers in the Dáil are “off duty” for way longer than that, having positions held open that they don’t intend to return to? Let them quit and fill the positions from among those young teachers who are on precarious temporary contracts. And on the subject of gayness (albeit on a tangent) let gay people work as teachers without fear of official discrimination. If more like Jerry came out, this country might actually make some distance from that kind of crapology.
He doesn’t get the teacher’s salary, but the position is held for him if he needs it back and his replacement is only temporary.
I think that’s a fair enough position up to the point that he qualifies for an Oireachtas pension. After that, he should have a choice between going back to teaching and being a TD.
BTW I wouldn’t vote for him, not because he’s a teacher or because he’s gay, but because he doesn’t seem the brightest. What with him having opposed both high-rise development and urban sprawl in Cork and his cack-handed wading in on the Glucksman’s display of a ‘blasphemous’ painting.
In other words he’s not willing to risk the dole if at the next election the electorate throw him out.Nice to see courage in running for the Dail.
Lucinda must have choked on her Cornflakes this morning.
I don’t know why jerry has changed his tune. When he was out canvassing he stated unequivocally that the issue of Marriage equality was not a priority given the state of the economy.
FG’s policies are about as liberal as those of the TALIBAN
Very true. Politicians only tell the truth when it benefits themselves. Either he was about to be outed by some scurrilous rag or he is trying to make himself and his party appear to be somewhat progressive. This has nothing to do with wanting genuine equality or feeling that by coming out he somehow makes himself seem credible. Not buying it. The whole lot of them are a blight on this country.
Any chance we can have a moratorium on teachers in the dail?
Why? teachers have clearly shown they are expert at ruining…i mean running the country.Just look at the improvement in all sectors of the country in the last year.We’ve turned the corner.
If I posted this: “Any chance of a moratorium on black people/Jews/gays in the Dail?” people would decry it as bigotry. Replace any of those things with teacher/public servant and suddenly it’s ok to generalise. You do realise that the teachers in FG/FF/Labour aren’t bad public servants because they’re teachers, it’s because they’re a member of parties who couldn’t give a toss about working people and only care about furthering their own political careers.
Public sector employees are not the enemy.
Wrong Martin you are bringing race and sexual orientation into the comment no one else is.But i get your point,still i feel the teaching profession is vastly over represented in the Dail.Where are the people who know how to run a business,create jobs etc.
Since when have teachers been a race? Why are there so many teachers in office? Is it because they have a lot of time on their hands, there has to be a reason.
Ugh, Keith, that’s the sound of you missing the point. You’re making a generalisation. Which is what racism/sectarianism/homophobia is.
When you say “all people with characteristic x act in way y” it’s called generalising. It’s always wrong. Teachers do not have “a load of time on their hands”. It’s clear you know nothing about the profession.
As for the poster saying why don’t we get business people into the Dail. What about Sean Fitzpatrick? Head of Anglo Irish Bank and experienced business person, he done some fantastic work in the past, like aiding in the bankruptcy of the Irish state :)
How about we don’t care about what profession politicians are and only ask that they are principled. That they stand up for working people and what they believe in. That’ll do for me.
And how are you going to work that one out Martin, he/she looks principled, I’ll vote for them? Great system, I’d rather the people running were qualified. The whole system is in need of a serious revamp.
Martin of the present government you know anyone that stands up for the working person,i don’t.Finally if a teacher becomes a TD why do they insist on holding their position when thousands of young teachers are on the dole.If they do the job they are paid to do by the voters their seat in the Dail will be secure.Why pick S Fitzpatrick why not M O leary numerous or others but you know yourself why you did.
Would Pádraig Pearse and Thomas MacDonagh be subjected to this ban on teachers?
You can’t just have an elitist Dáil full of business leaders. Everyone must be allowed based on character not just profession.
Political suicide. There’s no way he’s going to get re-elected. Cork isn’t ready for this kind of thing. In fact, Ireland isn’t ready. I know that’s not going to be a popular opinion, but it’s true.
Well actually there is proof that Ireland is ready. Dominic Hannigan of Meath-East was openly gay before the general election and recieved the highest percentage of the vote in that constituency.
I disagree with you, good on him. Dublin is ready.
Thankfully you don’t speak on behalf of Cork people. He may or may not get re elected but it’s nothing to do with his sexuality.
Jaysus, if you think Cork isn’t ready for a gay public representative, you obviously aren’t familiar with the place – Cork is a very progressive city and I expect this will be welcomed by his constituents and the rest of the Cork political sphere.
Fair play to Jerry, I disagree with the vast majority of his politics but I certainly admire his courage on this issue. Hopefully this will contribute to a more socially-progressive consensus forming in Irish politics.
I think ‘sucicide’ in this context is more aptly illustrated by having a bad memory stick moment. Having your laptop ‘stolen’. Issuing apologies all around and then fecking off for a bit of rest and recuperation.
eh sure isnt’ Donal Og gay also?? you better run to the hills in case its infectious!!
Aside from Dublin South-East, Dublin South and Dun Laoghaire, Cork South Central is probably the safest constituency in the country to be an out gay TD.
I love your “this kind of thing” – straight out of Father Ted. Do you mean homosexuals in politics or homosexuals in general? Backward and laughable either way. Cork is a lot more open and tolerant than you think. You insult Cork.
Maybe it’s just you race lover who isn’t ready?
The captain of the Cork Hurling team is openly gay. I think Cork, like the rest of Ireland, couldn’t care less about what people’s sexuality is anymore. This will be in the press for a day or two and then we all move on and forget about it.
Stiofán Ó’Maidin.
Didn’t Dónal óg’s brother say to his father, who was a bit traditional on it, after his son came out ” Jayzus but that’ll broaden your mind, won’t it” lol.
Well that’s certainly not true. I knew 5 years ago that jb was gay, as did most of cork south central before the last election. It will have little impact on his re election prospects, he will be judged on how well he performs as a TD.
Well done, Jerry.
I understand Sinn Féin is now the only party with Oireachtas members with no openly gay elected representatives. Interesting.
Why was the above comment deleted before?
Why is it interesting?? Maybe there are actually no members of Sinn fein who are gay…. Any excuse to bash the shinners though eh?
You ever think maybe none of them are gay.Anyway whats a persons sexuality got to do with politics or anything for that matter?
Why is it bashing them to ask the question?
FF has an openly gay councillor in Wexford.
Given their numbers of councillors etc., there has to be a few gay members. I won’t dwell on this because sexuality is an issue of privacy. However, I do think that if the person who came out today was a Sinn Féiner, people would wonder about Fine Gael and there would be much dismissive comment about how that party’s rural, conservative traditions would prevent anyone coming out.
Leaving now…..
Weren’t the Shinners calling for Gay Rights and equality 40 years ago. I remember going on a march for gay equality in 1972, a proud and eager hetrosexual. Look at the Dáil debates at the time, and look at the views of FG and FF TD’s, to describe them as extreme homophobnes would be an understatement.
gwan
I hate anything to do with FG but to be fair to this man & to consider our young gay community I think he is to be commended. If all of you think its so easy why dont ye pretend your gay for a day & come out you will find that challenge a bit more daunting. Well done is what I say &I hope it makes it easier for someone else to come out.
I don’t get why I, as a voter, should have to know whether he is gay or not??? Why is this being used as a political stick to beat peoples emotions and sympathies with?
I couldn’t care less what way he swings, it’s what he stands for and how he treats others at the end of the day that’s important to me.
To be honest, I can’t help but wonder whether all these “well dones” aren’t a bit condescending- why is confessing his sexuality something that needed resolving?
I don’t think what he has done is easy- I just think he shouldn’t have to. And when we keep treating the issue this way, I feel we are preventing it from being truly normalised.
I set a challenge if you want to know why its important be gay for a day. See what happens.
Michael either your’re straight,gay or bisexual don’t see how you change your sexualality for a day.Sorry absolutly silly suggestion.
Im not saying change your sexuality. However people are commenting that its not important & that this man has come out for reasons other than those stated. What im trying to do is show people that this is a difficult thing to do so if they think its not try it for one day.
I mean who gives a shite? Can he do the job he’s been elected for or not? The mans sexuality has no relevance whatsoever and personally I think this latest revelation was a stupid move on his part. That’s not going to go down well with some of the blue rinse brigade and if you want to commit political suicide well then that’s the way to do it.
It matters both for the individual in question to be able to live his life openly and on the same basis as his straight colleagues, and also to show other gay people that you don’t have to hide your sexuality or rule out certain professions. This will stop being an issue when full equality is realised for the LGBT community. Until then, announcements such as this will send out hugely positive messages to younger gay people in particular.
And it hardly amounts to ‘political suicide’ to come out in a country where 3 out of 4 people support marriage equality and where the vast majority know at least one openly gay person. So if Mr Buttimer loses his seat at the next election, it will not be because he is gay.
Just read this story. Not that I’m against him being gay but why couldn’t it have been one of the really good looking ones. Like alan shatter. He’s super cute.
Gay! WHO cares?
Coming out after the vote
NOT BEING HONEST?
And Fianna Fail!
MY bad, replying to a comment someone deleted*
Not sure I really care if he is gay or not…as long as he does his elected job properly then I would have no complaints.
@Grant Grieve
I was just watching TV3 news and the interviewer asked him ‘if he felt it was a big deal or if he felt it would make any difference’?
He said no. If Buttimer feels it won’t make any difference why did he go public? I would hope it’s not a PR stunt. Hoping to get young people on board with the ‘yes’ vote, let them think, ‘wow, F Gael are really with it’!! I see he used Senator Norris words he used in his answers when asked ‘should it matter that someone that is going for election for the Presidency is gay’? “If I were to be elected as President, I would be the President of Ireland, who just happens to be gay”. (Buttimer using this saying, “I’m a TD for F Gael, who happens to be gay”)
Come on F Gael PR think of something original, stop using other people words!
Who cares although the last name is a dead giveaway
Who cares….The Government are connoisseurs of misrepresentation. Remember what these parties promised before being elected in 2011 and what these parties did in Government after being elected. Therefore here now be wary of this Government with their representation of our problems so vote NO in the forthcoming Treaty.
Come on Sheila (if it’s Ed’s comments you are referring to)…it’s a funny comment. Maybe a tadge inappropriate but can’t we crack jokes?
I wouldnt shag him,Im apoliticol.
@racelover
Your comment doesn’t deserve my energy in commenting back to the rubbish you’ve just written. I will put it down to you been a ‘troll’ and an ugly one at that! (your comments being ugly)
It has no bearing on me nor i’m sure anyone else that he is gay. My problem with this being announced now is that it seems so contrived especially coming from our “Christian Democratic Party”, and I say that tongue in cheek, who were at the time of the election last year saying that equal marriage rights were against their party ethos. Mr Vardikar when he was asked about it replied this was the case. I’m sure both Leo and Lucinda were hugging the toilet bowl saying a few Hail Mary’s this morning as it goes so against the grain of their dark age Christian beliefs! Taliban politics, spin, spin, spin, what can we do to turn the electorate around and like us again…. Aaah yes, let’s get behind the pink vote!! A-holes! This pink voter ain’t no dope!
Oh wow, i was there and did a video interview with him and i’m so surprised this is such a popular story! (you can find the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Rgsn_qXmo )
Yes I do want to know why it is important to be gay for a day?
Just a day?
That’s not meaningful, that’s tourism!
What makes you think that I am not gay or haven’t participated in gay relationship before?
My views are formed on the back of my experiences and how people behave when confronted with homosexuality. I hope it is clear that I accept it unconditionally, just like I accept people of all races and the opposite sex. It makes no difference to me, and shouldn’t be something anyone is judged on, whether it springs from fear, or over compensating, such as this culture of congratulating people on coming out. Both are symptoms of society’s intolerance, though the latter seems harmless, it isn’t.
Why can’t people just be what they want and let it remain between themselves and those they love? Why do people have to be defined by their sexuality?
Jerry Buttimer says “being gay is not all of what I am” – yet this is unfortunately the only thing most people will remember him for, indeed it is the first time many have heard of him, and it is because he said he was gay. It has distracted from his policies and how he performs as a TD.
Even “The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) has also welcomed Buttimer’s comments today saying that it hoped more public representatives would follow suit…” – why should they follow suit? It’s like a witch hunt disguised as political correctness. No one owes anyone an explanation over their sexuality. It’s a personal matter.
Is he not openly out?
he said to me that he never openly denied it and never openly came out. i interviewed him on friday :)
Big deal he’s gay no probes wit it.we should be concerned wit the shady dealing the rest of those fukin officials get up to like that new treaty shame on u enda the joke kenny
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