Young Fine Gael (YFG) is the autonomous youth wing of the Irish political party Fine Gael. It is a major presence in political circles in third level institutions as well as in some towns and constituencies in the Republic of Ireland. It offers its members scope to assist in formulation of political policy, and the day to day running of the senior party. It is a constituent member of the Youth of the European Peoples Party, the youth wing of the European christian democratic grouping. Its president is Barry Walsh.
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History
Young Fine Gael were formed in 1977 as part of the internal reforms to Fine Gael instigated by Garret Fitzgerald who had become leader of the party. They grew rapidly with over 100 local branches of YFG being formed by 1978. During the 1980s they pursued a fairly liberal agenda, supporting the repeal of Ireland's homosexuality laws; a ban on the state funding on single-sex schools; and greater family planning options. Nowadays there is a broad range of political viewpoints held by members, ranging from centrist and social-democratic to the more conservative.
Organisation
YFG has a range of policies that it developed in conjunction with its own members. It has policy committees ranging from the Social Affairs committee to the Northern Ireland committee. This policies have on occasion been adopted by Fine Gael. In 2007, Young Fine Gael became the first youth political party to run a candidate for the NUI Senate Panel. Their candidate was John Kennedy, who was ultimately unsuccessful. YFG structure is based upon the European election constitutions. Its consists of Dublin, Leinster (Ireland East), Munster (Ireland South) and Connaught/Ulster (Ireland West). Each province inturn has a regional council in which the individual branches can meet and engage in discussion and set out agenda. These regional councils are designed to engage members from the same region and provide innovation in the group as well as in its senior party. Such groups have proven a valuable facet in the workings of the organisation, providing the party with an academy type structure where ambitious members are offered scope to prove themselves and provide a name for themselves.
Branches
Some of the prominent branches of YFG include, University College Cork YFG, Trinity College YFG, University of Limerick YFG, Cork North West YFG, National University of Ireland, Galway YFG, National University of Ireland, Dun Laoire YFG, Maynooth YFG, University College Dublin YFG, Kerry North YFG and YFG Letterkenny. YFG operates an online ezine, the Informer.
President and Executive
A President and National Executive is elected at the national council of YFG, which must be held at least once every 18 months.
- President: Barry Walsh
Young Fine Gael National Chairs/Presidents
- 1 Roy Dooney 1978-1979
- 2 Richard Daly 1979-1980
- 3 Colm Burke 1980-1981
- 4 John "Jim" Finucane 1981-1983
- 5 Chris O'Malley 1983-1984
- 6 Annette Connoly 1984-1985
- 7 Michael O'Dowd 1985-1986
- 8 Brian Murphy 1986-1988
- 9 Ken White 1988-1989
- 10 Billy Stamp 1989-1990
- 11 Tim Rea 1990-1991
- 12 Colm Brophy 1991-1993
- 13 John Mullens 1993-1995
- 14 Tony Sutton 1995
- 15 David Byrne 1995-1996
- 16 Arthur Lynch 1996-1998
- 17 Conor Price 1998-1999
- 18 Patrick O’Donovan 1999-2000
- 19 Aida Goold 2000-2001
- 20 Gerard O’Connell 2001-2003
- 21 William Lavelle 2003-2004
- 22 Patrick O'Driscoll 2004-2006
- 23 Elizabeth Munnelly 2006-2007
Recent Campaigns
- Homeless Solidarity Campaign (2003 & 2004). Sleep-outs in Dublin, Cork and Limerick to raise awareness of Irelands' homelessness problem.
- Better Deal for Young Drivers (2003): To campaign for action on road safety, motor insurance for young drivers and reform of the diver education/testing system. This campaign included 20 public meetings nationwide and a local media and internet publicity drive.
- Housing Tax Campaign (2004): Nationwide petition campaign to raise awareness of the government's excessive tax take on new homes for first-time buyers.
- Talk! Campaign (2005): To raise awareness of Mental Health and Suicide
- Voter Registration Campaign (2006): To encourage Youth Participation in Politics
Prominent Members in the Dáil & Seanad
Current Fine Gael TDs Leo Varadkar and Lucinda Creighton are current members of YFG, having previously served on the organisations National Executive.
