Latest news with #SinéadGibney
Irish Times
21-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Sinéad Gibney tells of how cousin Des Bishop ‘helped me to reflect on my own drinking'
It was a routine slot in the Dáil early on Thursday morning. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke was taking oral questions from TDs. Somebody asked him about mandatory health labelling on alcohol products. He replied the Government might defer its introduction because of the threat of US tariffs. Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney intervened to say she opposed putting the labels on the long finger. It was then that she disclosed to the chamber, and by extension to the public, her own relationship with alcohol. 'I haven't had a drink of alcohol in 13½ years. Alcohol and its negative impacts have played a huge part in my life,' she told the Dáil. Gibney had thought through what she would say and the fact she would be making this very public revelation to support her opposition to this rollback of policy. She had spoken publicly about her drinking in the past but knew that saying it in the Dáil would draw a different level of attention to her personally. READ MORE [ TD says she hasn't drunk alcohol in over 13 years during impassioned plea to not delay health-warning labels Opens in new window ] The Social Democrats TD for Dublin-Rathdown has been perceived as a high achiever throughout her career, having been head of social action with Google Ireland and the chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission . However, from her mid-teens to her mid-30s, she had a problematic relationship with alcohol. 'My drinking had always been too heavy. I had my first drink at 14. I was regularly drinking by the time I was 16. I'm not good at stopping. 'I was good craic, but I would always be the last person standing, and that's not good for your health ... That pattern was always there, absolutely.' Things came to a head in her mid-30s. She was a single mother, working in Google and studying for a master's degree. 'I had a busy social life and, like a lot of Irish people, I drank too much. 'It wasn't detrimental to my friendships. I was a life-and-soul type of person but it was detrimental to me in terms of my own mental health. I had a lot of bad hangovers.' There was no epiphany moment, no intervention. She decided to see if she could live her life without alcohol. She also wanted to be more present for her daughter, Bella, who was 11 at the time. 'I knew that I just wasn't there for Bella in a way that I wanted to be. That was definitely part of my motivation.' The comedian Des Bishop is her cousin and he had a destructive relationship with alcohol as a younger man. She talked to him frequently around this time. 'He helped me to reflect on my own drinking and what it was like in my life. That prompted self-reflection in me. And so I decided to test my life without alcohol.' 18/12/2024 - NEWS - Image as the Dail return's. Sinead Gibney SD. Photograph Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times At the time, she did not describe it to herself as an addiction. 'I saw myself as somebody who worked hard and played hard. I did not necessarily think I had a problem with alcohol.' Nonetheless the drinking patterns were not healthy. 'I might have a bottle of wine in the fridge that I would have over a few nights, and then sometimes I wouldn't put the bottle away. On a weeknight, drinking a full bottle of wine is not good. The thing is it did not interfere with my work. It was much more impactful on my relationship with my daughter and, indeed, with myself.' She had picked a date of mid-January 2012 to stop. But a 'hard night' out just after Christmas, and a horrendous hangover, brought the date forward to New Year's Eve. She has not taken alcohol since. 'I just bare-knuckled it. The thing about addiction is that when you take away the painkiller you feel the pain. I went into therapy a few months later and I had a brilliant therapist. I've been in therapy multiple times in my life. I'm a big fan of it and very open about it. 'I was dealing with stuff that arose because I gave up alcohol and that was why I needed that therapy journey.' She said that people advised her she would probably not get a whole lot out of Alcoholics Anonymous at that time. 'So I chose not to go. I did go to AA years later for a period and really found it very helpful. But at the time for me, therapy was a really good support in navigating through life without alcohol.' She says she doesn't tend to use the word alcoholic a lot mainly because of the reaction it provokes and because addiction is a complex topic. 'A lot of us have forms of addiction in our lives that we don't really own up to. I think it was probably years later that I probably started to say the word alcoholic, but I did talk about addiction and recovery from quite soon after. My sobriety now is something I really treasure.' The personal benefits were immeasurable. 'It transformed my relationship with my daughter. I became so much more present, and the quality of time that we had together just shot up.' The change was not without big challenges, though: 'I now had to navigate social anxiety and how to be around people in a social setting without the crutch of alcohol. 'I spend a lot of time in my life working on my self-awareness. I do not feel that I would be here where I am today if I hadn't made that choice around alcohol. 'I think there is a large amount of potential in this country that is untapped because of alcohol. People will hear my story, and hopefully some people will hear something similar to what they experience. Every single human should examine their relationship with alcohol.'
Irish Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
TD admits she hasn't drank alcohol in over 13 years during impassioned plea to not delay health-warning labels
An opposition TD has spoken about the negative impact of alcohol on her life as she raised concerns about a possible delay in the introduction of health-warning labels on drinks products . Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney told the Dáil she has not drunk alcohol for more than 13 years. The party's enterprise spokeswoman was speaking following recent comments from a number of ministers – including Tánaiste Simon Harris , Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke – suggesting the introduction of labelling may be delayed because of the possible impact of US tariffs on the global trade environment. The labels warn about the risk of liver disease and fatal cancers from alcohol consumption and the risk of drinking while pregnant. They also list the calories in the product and the number of grams of alcohol. The labels are due to come into effect on May 22nd, 2026. Ms Gibney said the measure 'has the backing of the entire medical community'. READ MORE Raising the issue during Dáil questions on enterprise, tourism and employment, the Dublin Rathdown TD said: 'I haven't had a drink of alcohol in 13½ years. Alcohol and its negative impacts have played a huge part in my life. 'I say this and I share this because I think there is hardly a family in Ireland which doesn't have the same experience.' Minister of State Alan Dillon said labelling is a matter for the Department of Health. 'I have a duty to defend the interests of Irish indigenous SMEs who are facing unprecedented global trade pressures,' he said. The US market counts for nearly 40 per cent of Irish exports and Irish whiskey exports alone are worth nearly €450 million, he added. The Minister insisted 'this is not about undermining public health'. He said 'it's about sequencing policy in a way to protect jobs' and ensure economic resilience in the sector. Mr Dillon added that the legislation comes at a time when many businesses 'are struggling with uncertainty'. However, Ms Gibney said it is 'wrong and unfair to dangle it as a response to tariffs, when it won't even help those Irish companies because it doesn't have an impact on exports'. Holding up one of the health labels, she said: 'Distributors are actually already putting the labelling on in anticipation of it. So all this would do is cause confusion if you were to roll it back.' The legislation has been in the pipeline since 2019 and Ms Gibney said it positions Ireland as a leader in health measures, just as the smoking ban did. She said 'if we kept in step with Europe on the smoking ban, we would still not have a smoking ban'. But Mr Dillon said 'we're very much committed to a whole-of-a-Government approach to public health, but also to economic sustainability'. The Minister added: 'We would not apologise for standing up for Irish jobs, for Irish businesses within this sector to ensure that we maintain Ireland's global competitiveness. 'We need to ensure that the well-intentioned regulation does not become, in time, a disrupter to many of these exporters at a time of real uncertainty.' He said 'the national alcohol labelling regulation, while rooted in public health objectives, must be administered in a way that does not jeopardise Ireland's export-led recovery'. The drinks manufacturing sector employs more than 5,500 people and is a strategic contributor to the economy, he added. 'What we wanted to do here is not to abandon the public health goals, but we're asking for a more pragmatic sequencing and economic realism here in terms of its implementation.'
RTÉ News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Protest at Leinster House ahead of Central Bank vote
A protest is being held outside Leinster House ahead of a vote on a motion seeking to ban the Central Bank from facilitating the sale of so-called Israeli war bonds. The day-long 'Stop Funding Genocide' action was organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC). Government TDs will tonight vote on whether to ban the facilitation of the war bonds in Ireland, a cross-party motion brought forward by the Social Democrats. Last month, a similar motion brought forward by Sinn Féin was defeated by 87 votes to 75. Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney spoke at the protest, saying the Government had a second opportunity to stop the sale of Israeli bonds in Europe. She said: "Our Central Bank is currently facilitating Israeli bonds in Europe by approving the prospectus of Israeli bonds. "Every country has the right to raise bonds and sell them but the bonds that are being raised and sold by Israel right now are being used to fund this genocide. "The weapons, the bombs and the bullets that have killed 55,000 people, that have injured 126,000 people, they are partly funded by the sale of those bonds. "Our Central Bank says there's nothing they can do, but we can in the Dáil. So today we offer the Government another opportunity to stop the Central Bank from approving that prospectus, to play our part in stopping the sale of Israeli bonds in Europe." During the protest a group of women dressed in black held a 15-minute "keening" outside the gates of Leinster House - the action of wailing in grief. Senator Frances Black, who was among the attendees, said the "keeners" represented what the crowd was feeling. She said: "Our hearts are broken at this time by what we're seeing in Gaza and the West Bank, it's absolutely outrageous and we've seen that now for over a year and a half. "We've been confronted with scenes in Gaza that are so horrific they will haunt us and certainly haunt me as long we can remember." The Government has posed a counter-motion that outlines the actions the Coalition has taken so far against Israel. Earlier, the governor of the Central Bank told politicians that it cannot refuse to facilitate the sale of Israel war bonds as doing so would break EU capital markets rules. Gabriel Makhlouf outlined the position to the Oireachtas Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure this afternoon. He said the Central Bank was "absolutely appalled" by what is happening in Gaza. However, the bank is "required to perform" certain actions under EU rules, he said, adding "we are established by law, we are empowered by law, and we must always act within and in line with the law".
The Journal
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Opposition calls for ‘vote of conscience' on Israeli 'war bonds' ahead of cross-party motion
OPPOSITION PARTIES HAVE requested a free 'vote of conscience' on a motion calling on the Government to stop the Central Bank from facilitating the sale of Israeli State Bonds. The Central Bank of Ireland is the designated authority in relation to the sale of Israeli Bonds in the EU. Israeli State Bonds have been advertised as supporting the country's economy, and more recently, websites promoting the securities emphasise their role in supporting Israel's military operations in Gaza, leading some to dub them 'Israeli war bonds'. The Central Bank is responsible for assessing whether a prospectus for the offer of securities is in compliance with requirements of the EU Prospectus Regulation, with the authority saying approval should not be viewed as 'an endorsement of the issuer'. Protesters have demonstrated outside the Central Bank and called for legislation that would give Ireland the power to refuse the sale of Israeli 'war bonds' over human rights concerns. Advertisement Last month, a Sinn Féin bill which sought to stop the Irish Central Bank facilitating the sale of Israeli 'war bonds' was defeated after the Government voted against the draft legislation. On Wednesday, the Dáil will vote on a motion on the matter brought by a number of opposition parties during the Social Democrats' time. The motion says the bonds are intended to fund the war in Gaza and argues Ireland ha obligations under the Genocide Convention to use all means likely to have a deterrent effect on those suspected of preparing genocide. Speaking to reporters today, Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney said: 'We have failed as an international community to prevent a genocide from happening so now we have to do everything in our power to make sure that we stop it.' She added: 'We are urging the Government to allow a free vote, a vote of conscience, because we believe that this is something that many TDs will support if given the opportunity. 'And we absolutely urge the Government to support this motion.' Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe said he believes the gap between the vote on the Sinn Féin Bill and this motion will give TDs 'time to reflect'.
RTÉ News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Opposition seek free Government vote on sale of Israeli bonds
Four opposition parties have called on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs to be given a free vote on an upcoming Dáil motion which seeks to prevent the Irish Central Bank from facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds. A cross-party motion will be brought forward on Wednesday by the Social Democrats, which is being backed by Sinn Fein, Labour and People Before Profit / Solidarity. Speaking at Leinster House today, Social Democrats deputy Sinéad Gibney said that Government TDs should be allowed to vote with their conscience, saying she believed such a motion would have a "domino effect" and other countries will adopt a similar stance. She said it's the "time and moment to stand up" as the bonds are being used by the Israeli government to buy "bullets and bombs to kill people." Sinn Féin deputy Seán Crowe said his party backed the Social Democrats plan, after bringing a similar motion to the floor of the Dáil last month. He said that things are getting worse in Gaza "every week", even though at times it seemed impossible for such a scenario to be possible. People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy accused the Israeli government of "using access to humanitarian aid as a weapon of war", adding that its navy had "kidnapped" pro-Palestinian activists overnight on the freedom flotilla which was attempting to bring desperately needed supplies to Gaza. He said that there "must be no complicity in this genocide" by the Irish nation, and he said the Irish government must ensure that the Central Bank is not "facilitating this genocide." Labour whip Duncan Smith said adopting the motion would send a "clear signal" that Ireland refuses "morally and ethically" to stand-over war bonds. He said he met members of Human Rights Watch last week who told him that while the Irish government may be doing more than other States on Gaza, "the bar is so low." Deputy Smith also criticised the Coalition for saying it will work with the Opposition when constructive motions are put forward, but then goes on to block them.
