View source for Progressive Democrats

{{short description|Irish political party (1985–2009)}}
{{Distinguish|Congressional Progressive Caucus|National Progressive Democrats|Progressive Democratic Party (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=June 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| country          = the Republic of Ireland
| name             = Progressive Democrats
| native_name      = An Páirtí Daonlathach
| logo             = Logo of the Progressive Democrats (Ireland), circa 2000s.png
| leader           = {{ublist
 | [[Desmond O'Malley]] (first)
 | [[Noel Grealish]] (last)
}}
| founder          = Desmond O'Malley
| foundation       = {{start date|1985|12|21|df=y}}
| dissolution      = {{end date|2009|11|20|df=yes}}
| headquarters     = 25 South Frederick Street, [[Dublin]] 2
| ideology         = [[Conservative liberalism]] <br> [[Economic liberalism]]
| position         = [[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]]{{refn|<ref name="Weishaupt">{{cite book|author=J. Timo Weishaupt|title=From the Manpower Revolution to the Activation Paradigm: Explaining Institutional Continuity and Change in an Integrating Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ePDKhmzsEIC&pg=PT138|year=2011|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-8964-252-3|page=138|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=18 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818212055/https://books.google.com/books?id=1ePDKhmzsEIC&pg=PT138|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gilland">{{cite book|author=Karin Gilland|chapter=Ireland: neutrality and the International use of force|editor1=Philip Everts|editor2=Pierangelo Isernia|title=Public Opinion and the International Use of Force|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OGLj7oJU5MIC&pg=PA138|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-60217-9|page=138|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627175835/http://books.google.com/books?id=OGLj7oJU5MIC&pg=PA138|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="PuddingtonPiano">{{cite book|editor1=Arch Puddington|editor2=Aili Piano|editor3=Katrina Neubauer|title=Freedom in the World 2009: The Annual Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZVhuV7h5hwC&pg=PA356|date=30 September 2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-0122-4|page=356|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=1 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801092709/https://books.google.com/books?id=hZVhuV7h5hwC&pg=PA356|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LeonardBotetzagias">{{cite book|author1=Liam Leonard|author2=Iosif Botetzagias|title=Sustainable Politics and the Crisis of the Peripheries: Ireland and Greece|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iIMvrVg1v20C&pg=PA38|year=2011|publisher=Emerald Group Publishing|isbn=978-0-85724-761-2|page=38|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=9 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809070547/https://books.google.com/books?id=iIMvrVg1v20C&pg=PA38|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| youth_wing       = [[Young Progressive Democrats]]
| international    = [[Liberal International]]
| european         = [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party|European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party]]
| europarl         = [[European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Group|LDR]] (1989–1994)
| colours          = [[Green]], [[Dark blue (color)|dark blue]]
| colorcode        = {{party color|Progressive Democrats}}
| website          = [https://web.archive.org/web/20030609174002/http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/ http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/]
}}
The '''Progressive Democrats''' ({{langx|ga|An Páirtí Daonlathach}}, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the '''PDs''', were a [[Conservative liberalism|conservative liberal]]<ref name="HamannKelly2010">{{cite book|author1=Kerstin Hamann|author2=John Kelly|title=Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5hXGBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1982|year=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-94986-9|page=1982|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729154029/https://books.google.com/books?id=5hXGBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1982|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Slomp2011">{{cite book|author=Hans Slomp|title=Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1uzkNq8xfIC&pg=PA333|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-39181-1|page=333|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015849/https://books.google.com/books?id=V1uzkNq8xfIC&pg=PA333|url-status=live}}</ref> [[List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland|political party in Ireland]]. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 2009.

Launched on 21 December 1985 by [[Desmond O'Malley]] and other politicians who had split from [[Fianna Fáil]] and [[Fine Gael]], the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on [[divorce]], [[Birth control|contraception]] and other social issues. The party also supported [[Economic liberalization|economic liberalisation]], advocating measures such as lower [[tax]]ation, [[fiscal conservatism]], [[Privatization|privatisation]] and [[welfare reform]]. The party performed strongly at its first election, the [[1987 Irish general election|1987 general election]], winning 14 seats in [[Dáil Éireann]] and capturing almost 12 per cent of the popular vote to temporarily surpass the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] as Ireland's third-largest political party.

Although the Progressive Democrats never again won more than 10 seats in the Dáil, it formed [[coalition government]]s with [[Fianna Fáil]] during the [[26th Dáil]] (1989–1992), the [[28th Dáil]] (1997–2002), the [[29th Dáil]] (2002–2007) and the [[30th Dail]] (2007–2009). These successive years as the government's junior coalition partner gave the party an influence on Irish politics and [[economics]] disproportionate to its small size. The party was credited with shaping the low-tax, pro-business environment that contributed to Ireland's [[Celtic Tiger]] economic boom during the 1990s and 2000s;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shaping-the-politics-that-spawned-the-celtic-tiger-77283.html|title=Shaping the politics that spawned the Celtic Tiger|work=[[Irish Independent]]|date=8 September 2006|access-date=29 October 2008|archive-date=20 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520082221/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shaping-the-politics-that-spawned-the-celtic-tiger-77283.html|url-status=live}}</ref> however, it was also blamed for contributing to the post-2008 [[Post-2008 Irish economic downturn|Irish financial and economic crisis]].<ref name="independent">{{cite news | url=http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ffpd-policy-to-blame-for-economic-ills-claims-report-2554051.html | work=Irish Independent | first=Siobhan | last=Creaton | title=FF-PD policy to blame for economic ills, claims report | date=24 February 2011 | access-date=24 February 2011 | archive-date=18 February 2013 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218004009/http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ffpd-policy-to-blame-for-economic-ills-claims-report-2554051.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Mary Harney]] became party leader in 1993, the first woman to lead any major Irish political party. She stepped down in 2006 and was succeeded by [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]], who led the party into the [[2007 Irish general election|2007 general election]], where it lost six of its eight seats in the Dáil. The party never recovered from this electoral collapse. On 8 November 2008, delegates to a special conference in Mullingar voted to disband the party, which was formally dissolved on 20 November 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0228/1224241989891.html|title=Formal winding-up of PDs delayed for legal reasons|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=28 February 2009|access-date=28 February 2009|archive-date=8 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108221601/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0228/1224241989891.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/archive/2009/november/Ir201109.PDF|title=Electoral Acts 1992 and 2001 – Register of Political Parties|work=[[Iris Oifigiúil]]|date=20 November 2009|access-date=12 January 2010|archive-date=24 February 2011|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/10702/20110224034002/http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/archive/2009/november/Ir201109.PDF|url-status=live}}</ref> The two Progressive Democrats elected to the 30th Dáil, Harney and [[Noel Grealish]], continued to support the government as independent TDs. Harney continued to serve as [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health and Children]] until January 2011.

==History==
===Foundation===
The party was founded in 1985 by [[Desmond O'Malley]], a former senior minister in Fianna Fáil governments under [[Jack Lynch]] and [[Charles Haughey]]. O'Malley was a strong opponent of Haughey and was involved in a number of leadership heaves against Haughey, who was popular and controversial in equal measure. O'Malley had lost the Fianna Fáil whip in the Dáil in 1984 because of his support for the [[New Ireland Forum]] report and was finally expelled from Fianna Fáil early in 1985 for "conduct unbecoming" a member when he refused to support Fianna Fáil's opposition to the introduction of contraception.

At the party's launch in December 1985, O'Malley was joined by [[Mary Harney]], who had lost the Fianna Fáil parliamentary whip, and by former Fine Gael activist [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]]. In the weeks after its launch, Fianna Fáil TDs [[Bobby Molloy]] and [[Pearse Wyse]], and [[Fine Gael]] TD [[Michael Keating (Irish politician)|Michael Keating]] also joined the party. The defectors were dissatisfied with the policies of existing parties, which they viewed as being insufficiently liberal, both economically and on social issues such as divorce and contraception. In Ireland in 1985, when personal income above [[Irish pound|£]]7,300 per annum was taxed at 60 percent, the country's [[Government debt|national debt]] was 104 percent of GDP, unemployment was 17.3 percent, the Progressive Democrats' liberal reformist agenda was considered especially radical.

McDowell suggested a number of names for the party, including New Democrats, New Republic, National Party, Radical Party; Progressive Democrats was not among his suggestions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Breaking the Mould: How the PDs changed Irish politics|last=Collins|first=Stephen|publisher=Gill & Macmillan|year=2005|isbn=978-07171-4166-1|location=Dublin|pages=226}}</ref> O'Malley declared that the party ought to be pro-enterprise, in favour of economic participation by all, liberal and pluralist, hostile to institutional dependency, favourable to incentives, pro self-reliance, deregulating where possible, anti-monopoly and pro-competition, low-key on nationalism, stressing "real republican" values rather than "nationalistic myths".<ref name=":0" />

===Electoral breakthrough and coalition===
[[File:Progressive Democrats (Ireland) logo, circa 1980s.png|thumb|250px|upright=1.2|The first logo of the party, used during the 1980s]]
At the [[1987 Irish general election|1987 general election]] the new party won 14 seats and 11.9% of the vote, becoming the third-largest party in the [[25th Dáil]]. The Progressive Democrats formed the second-largest opposition party under difficult circumstances. The minority Fianna Fáil government introduced some of the economic reforms that the Progressive Democrats had recommended. Fianna Fáil was however largely supported by Fine Gael where the economy was concerned, and so the Progressive Democrats had difficulty being effective in opposition.

After the [[1989 Irish general election|1989 general election]], the party had only six seats but formed a coalition government with Fianna Fáil, with Charles Haughey as [[Taoiseach]], which was the first time Fianna Fáil entered coalition. PD leader Desmond O'Malley served as [[Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment|Minister for Industry and Commerce]].

In 1990, a scandal broke surrounding [[Tánaiste]] (deputy prime minister) [[Brian Lenihan Snr]]'s role in pressuring President [[Patrick Hillery]] not to allow then-Taoiseach [[Garret FitzGerald]] to dissolve the Dáil in 1982. The Progressive Democrats gave Haughey an ultimatum—unless Lenihan was removed from cabinet, they would pull out of the coalition and support a no-confidence motion in the government. Haughey tried to force Lenihan to resign, and sacked him when he refused. A year later, after former Justice Minister [[Seán Doherty (Roscommon politician)|Seán Doherty]] claimed that Haughey had authorised [[Irish phone tapping scandal|tapping journalists' phones]] in the 1980s, the PDs told Haughey that they would tear up the coalition agreement if he remained as Taoiseach. With O'Malley's approval, Haughey stood down as Taoiseach in February 1992. He was replaced by [[Albert Reynolds]], and O'Malley retained his cabinet post.

===Harney leadership===
After the collapse of Reynolds' first administration later in 1992, O'Malley retired from the leadership of the party. Following the 1992 general election, [[John Dardis]] (Agricultural Panel) and [[Cathy Honan]] (Industrial and Commercial Panel) were elected to [[Seanad Éireann]] as part of an election pact with their politically polar opposites [[Democratic Left (Ireland)|Democratic Left]].<ref>[http://www.ucc.ie/en/government/Staff/LiamWeeks/Research/DocumentFile-64652-en.pdf Chapter 10 The Subterranean Election of the Seanad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413000635/http://www.ucc.ie/en/government/Staff/LiamWeeks/Research/DocumentFile-64652-en.pdf |date=13 April 2020 }} Michael Gallagher and Liam Weeks UCC</ref> Mary Harney became the new leader after a bitter electoral contest with [[Pat Cox]] who later left the party. Harney was the first woman to lead any of the major Irish political parties.{{efn|[[Margaret Buckley]] had led Sinn Féin between 1936 and 1950, but during a period where they held no seats in the Dáil and didn't contest elections.}} Harney served as [[Tánaiste]] (deputy prime minister) from May 1997 until September 2006 after a return to government in coalition with Fianna Fáil.

In the [[2002 Irish general election|2002 general election]] the party doubled its Dáil seats to eight, although its share of the vote declined slightly to 4%. In total, the Progressive Democrats participated in coalition governments four times, on each occasion with Fianna Fáil (1989–1992; 1997–2002; 2002–2007; 2007–2009), and also with the [[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]] from 2007 to 2009.

In 2005 Michael McDowell publicly took a firmly anti-republican position and named Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Martin Ferris as members of the IRA Army Council. The convention in Irish politics at this time was not to accuse Sinn Féin politicians of being members of the Army Council, in doing so McDowell broke with convention. He said that until the IRA disbanded Sinn Féin could not be involved in government, North or South.<ref name=":0" />

===McDowell leadership and demise===
On 7 September 2006, Mary Harney announced that she was stepping down as leader of the Progressive Democrats. She expressed a wish to stay on as Minister for Health.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0907/harneym.html|title=Harney steps down as leader of PDs|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=7 September 2006|access-date=16 February 2008|archive-date=9 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409182723/http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0907/harneym.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 10 September, Michael McDowell was elected unopposed as Party Leader, having been nominated by [[Tom Parlon]] and that nomination being seconded by [[Liz O'Donnell]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/press_room/2033/|title=Michael McDowell confirmed as Progressive Democrats Party Leader|work=Progressive Democrats website|date=11 September 2006|access-date=16 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120093338/http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/press_room/2033/|archive-date=20 November 2007}}</ref> Liz O'Donnell became Deputy Leader and Tom Parlon became Party President.

The [[2007 Irish general election|2007 general election]] was a disastrous one for the party. The Progressive Democrats lost six of their eight seats in the 166-seat [[Dáil]]. Among those to lose their seats were party leader Michael McDowell, deputy leader Liz O'Donnell and party president Tom Parlon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0525/election6.html|title=McDowell quits amid chaotic election for PDs|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=25 May 2007|access-date=16 February 2008|archive-date=17 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117175415/http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0525/election6.html|url-status=live}}</ref> McDowell retired from public life after he lost his seat, and Mary Harney was asked by the party chairperson to resume the role of party leader.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mary Harney asked to resume PD leadership|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0527/pds.html|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=27 May 2007|access-date=27 May 2007|quote=The Chairman of the Progressive Democrats, Peter Wyer, has asked Mary Harney to assume the functions and responsibilities of party leader until the formation of the next Government.|archive-date=30 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530172410/http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0527/pds.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The following month, Tom Parlon announced that he was also leaving public life and would take up the position of Director General of the Irish Construction Industry Federation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0710/pds.html|title=Parlon quits PDs for construction industry job|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=10 July 2007|access-date=16 February 2008|archive-date=22 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080122050626/http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0710/pds.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A committee headed by former Senator [[John Dardis]] recommended in September 2007 that the role of leader be taken on by a senator or councillor (although the party rules then required that the position must be held by a TD).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0928/breaking44.html|title=PDs set to broaden leadership criteria|author=Boyes, Nicola|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=28 September 2007|access-date=16 February 2008|archive-date=20 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520112036/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0928/breaking44.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A meeting of the party's General Council on 16 February 2008 changed the rules to allow any senator, councillor or any party member with the support of 20 other members to stand for the party's leadership<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0216/pds.html|title=PDs change leadership rules|work=[[RTÉ News]]|date=16 February 2008|access-date=16 February 2008|archive-date=26 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226113928/http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0216/pds.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and on 17 April, Senator [[Ciarán Cannon]] was elected leader, defeating fellow Senator [[Fiona O'Malley]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/press_room/2434/|title=Senator Ciaran Cannon is the new leader of the Progressive Democrats|work=Progressive Democrats|date=17 April 2008|access-date=17 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193413/http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/press_room/2434/|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

The party's two remaining [[Teachta Dála|TD]]s, [[Mary Harney]] and [[Noel Grealish]], entered into coalition government with [[Fianna Fáil]] and the [[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]] in the [[30th Dáil]]. The party never recovered from this electoral collapse. On 8 November 2008, with all parliamentary members (two TDs and two Senators) and founder Desmond O'Malley united in the opinion that the party was no longer politically viable, delegates to a special conference in [[Mullingar]] voted by 201 votes to 161 to bring the Progressive Democrats to an end.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1108/pd.html |title=PDs vote to wind up political party |date=8 November 2008 |work=[[RTÉ News]] |access-date=8 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211110548/http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1108/pd.html |archive-date=11 December 2008 }}</ref> In January 2009 the party was still operating and in receipt of state funding,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribune.ie/news/article/2009/jan/11/a-wind-up-pds-continue-to-receive-state-funding/|title=A wind-up? PDs continue to receive state funding|author=Coleman, Shane|work=[[Sunday Tribune]]|date=11 January 2009|access-date=19 January 2009}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> including a Party Leader's Allowance paid to Minister Mary Harney,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0623/breaking48.htm|title=Parties get €13.7m in State funding|date=26 June 2009|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=26 June 2009|archive-date=23 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923012511/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/parties-get-13-7m-in-state-funding-1.842274|url-status=live}}</ref> but had ceased to receive funding by the following June. In March 2009, Noel Grealish became caretaker leader after Cannon's decision to join [[Fine Gael]], and he retained the role for the remaining months of the party's existence.

The archives of the Progressive Democrats party were presented to [[University College Dublin]] on 10 June 2009.<ref name=archives>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0610/1224248537815.html|title=PDs to donate all archives of party's history to UCD|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=10 June 2009|access-date=10 June 2009|archive-date=8 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108222251/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0610/1224248537815.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At least 20 former Progressive Democrats councillors won seats on [[Local government in the Republic of Ireland|county, city and town councils]] at the [[2009 Irish local elections|2009 local elections]]. Some were elected as [[Fine Gael]] candidates, some as [[Fianna Fáil]] and others as independents.<ref name=archives/>

===Later events===
At the [[2011 Irish general election|2011 general election]] 11 former Progressive Democrats members stood as candidates for the Dáil in a country-wide spread of constituencies. Three former PD members were elected: [[Mary Mitchell O'Connor]] (PD Councillor 2004–2008) was elected in [[Dún Laoghaire (Dáil constituency)|Dún Laoghaire]] for Fine Gael, [[Ciarán Cannon]] (PD Senator 2007–2009 / party leader 2008–2009) was elected in [[Galway East (Dáil constituency)|Galway East]] for the same party, while [[Noel Grealish]] (PD TD 2002–2009 / caretaker party leader 2009) was re-elected as an independent TD for [[Galway West (Dáil constituency)|Galway West]]. Several ex-PD members stood for election to Seanad Éireann in 2011. [[Cáit Keane]] was elected as a Fine Gael senator; she had served on [[South Dublin County Council]] for the PDs between 1991 and 2008, and had stood for election in the [[Dublin South-Central (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-Central constituency]] for the PDs in 1992, 1994 and 1997.

As of 2024, Noel Grealish remains in the Dáil, having been re-elected as an independent in [[2011 Irish general election|2011]], [[2016 Irish general election|2016]], [[2020 Irish general election|2020]] and [[2024 Irish general election|2024]].

Michael McDowell was elected to the Seanad in 2016, 2020 and 2025 as an independent representing the [[National University of Ireland (constituency)|National University of Ireland panel]].

==Ideology and policies==
The Progressive Democrats were described as [[conservative liberalism|conservative liberal]]s,<ref name="HamannKelly2010"/><ref name="Slomp2011"/><ref name="RobertsHogwood2013">{{cite book|author1=Geoffrey K. Roberts|author2=Patricia Hogwood|title=The Politics Today Companion to West European Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q40tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT188|year=2013|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-1-84779-032-3|page=188|access-date=17 April 2018|archive-date=23 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923012510/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q40tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT188|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Liberalism|liberal]],<ref name="WallaceOSullivan">{{cite book|author1=Joe Wallace|author2=Michelle O'Sullivan|chapter=Institutional Protection for Vulnerable Workers: Lessons from the Twentieth Century|editor1=Frank Reid|editor2=Anil Verma|title=Trade and Labour Protection: Can the Two be Made to Work Together?|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tny2P1CIYHYC&pg=PA153|year=2003|publisher=Presses Université Laval|isbn=978-2-7637-8031-3|page=153|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627175729/http://books.google.com/books?id=Tny2P1CIYHYC&pg=PA153|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="HloušekKopecek">{{cite book|author1=Vít Hloušek|author2=Lubomír Kopecek|title=Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3wHffNQ7owC&pg=PA72|year=2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-9977-0|page=72|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627175958/http://books.google.com/books?id=W3wHffNQ7owC&pg=PA72|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Annesley">{{cite book|editor=Claire Annesley|title=Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RefH7Ya5kU4C&pg=PT278|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-35547-0|page=278|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627175921/http://books.google.com/books?id=RefH7Ya5kU4C&pg=PT278|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[classical liberal]].<ref name="O'ConnorO'Halloran2008">{{cite book|author1=Tom O'Connor|author2=Anthony O'Halloran|author3=Seamus Pattison|title=Politics in a Changing Ireland 1960–2007: A Tribute to Seamus Pattison|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujipx7kGF70C&pg=PA26|year=2008|publisher=Institute of Public Administration|isbn=978-1-904541-69-1|page=26|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627175158/http://books.google.com/books?id=ujipx7kGF70C&pg=PA26|url-status=live}}</ref>

The party's economic policies were based on [[neoliberalism]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oo-u0p31yjQC&dq=%22Progressive+Democrats%22+ireland+neoliberal&pg=PA225|title=Re-imagining Ireland|first1=Andrew Higgins|last1=Wyndham|first2=Virginia Foundation Virginia Foundation for the|last2=Humanities|date=9 November 2006|publisher=University of Virginia Press|isbn=9780813925448|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Progressive-Democrats|title=Progressive Democrats &#124; political party, Ireland|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RgKTAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Progressive+Democrats%22+ireland+neoliberal&pg=PA342|title=Neoliberalism: National and Regional Experiments with Global Ideas|first1=Ravi K.|last1=Roy|first2=Arthur T.|last2=Denzau|first3=Thomas D.|last3=Willett|date=13 December 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135993672|via=Google Books}}</ref> They supported the freedom of private enterprise and the lowering of taxes. They generally favoured privatisation; for example, they supported the privatisation of the previously state-owned airline [[Aer Lingus]] and communications company [[Telecom Éireann]]. They were also part of the break-up of airports company [[Aer Rianta]] and unsuccessfully lobbied for a private, competing second terminal in [[Dublin Airport]]. As acting PD leader and [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]], Mary Harney was involved in the controversial extension of private-sector influence in health care. She pursued a policy of co-location of private hospitals on public hospital grounds and is seen as sympathetic to the privatisation of [[health insurance]]. However, they opposed their coalition partner's plans to privatise airports company [[Aer Rianta]] on the grounds that a private monopoly would be worse than a public monopoly.{{citation needed|date=June 2007}}

The party was a strong supporter of low taxation. As the [[Economic and Social Research Institute]] (ESRI) stated in 2002: "On balance, budgets over the past 10 to 20 years have been more favourable to high income groups than low income groups, but particularly so during periods of high growth".<ref>'The distributive impact of budgetary policy: A medium term view' Tim Callan, Mary Keeney, John Walsh, ESRI Dublin, 2002.</ref> While the party was in government since 1997, the lower rate of [[income tax]] fell from 26% to 20% and the upper rate from 48% to 41%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.revenue.ie/budget/budget1997/income.htm#Tax%20Rates,%20Bands%20&%20Tables |title=Budget 1997 |publisher=[[Office of the Revenue Commissioners|Revenue Commissioners]] |access-date=19 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070517021054/http://www.revenue.ie/budget/budget1997/income.htm |archive-date=17 May 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.revenue.ie/index.htm?/budget/budget2007/income_07.htm#4 
 |title=Budget 2007 
 |publisher=[[Office of the Revenue Commissioners|Revenue Commissioners]] 
 |access-date=19 May 2007 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928033342/http://www.revenue.ie/index.htm?%2Fbudget%2Fbudget2007%2Fincome_07.htm 
 |archive-date=28 September 2007 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref>

They supported low [[corporation tax]] because they believe it encouraged business growth and enabled private enterprise to be rewarded. The party often claimed these policies were in part responsible for the "[[Celtic Tiger]]" economy. Dermot McAleese, [[emeritus]] professor of economics at [[Trinity College Dublin]], says that the emergence of the Progressive Democrats in 1985 may have had a more positive influence on the economy than some recognise. He argues the Irish low-tax, pro-business economy is based in large part on Progressive Democrat policies. "They proved that there was a constituency for this, and they gave the intellectual power to it."<ref>''The Irish Times'', 31 December 2004</ref>

The party leaders rejected the idea that they are ruled by ideology alone. Former party leader Michael McDowell has said that he sees [[liberalism]] as not being on the left-right spectrum as it is a mix of the ideals of both. Mary Harney, on becoming health minister said "I don't get my politics from any ideology, I get it from my experience and common sense". {{Citation needed|date=May 2007}} Yet Harney was a controversial minister who attempted to extend private influence in the health service and McDowell's campaign in the [[2007 Irish general election|general election]] included particularly strong attacks on Irish [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] parties.

Despite having in its ranks the [[openly gay]] [[Colm O'Gorman]], the Progressive Democrats did not support [[same-sex marriage]]. Instead, they claimed to propose legislating for [[civil union]]; however attempts by the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] to legislate for civil unions in the previous [[Dáil]] had been forestalled by PD [[Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration|Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform]] Michael McDowell, due to his insistence that non-sex relationships be recognised too. The Progressive Democrats again voted down the same bill in the [[29th Dáil]].{{original research inline|date=August 2012}}

Both Progressive Democrats and other commentators have suggested that the party had a greater influence on government policy since 1997 than might be expected from its size. This belief appears to have some basis&nbsp;&ndash; as of September 2004 the party controlled two of the most important cabinet positions ([[Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration|Justice]] and [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Health]]), despite having less than one-tenth of the seats of its coalition partner Fianna Fáil.

In a 2000 speech to the [[American Bar Association]], the then party leader Mary Harney appeared to express a desire that Ireland become "closer to Boston than Berlin",<ref>
{{cite press release|url=http://www.entemp.ie/press/2000/210700.htm|title=Remarks by Tánaiste, Mary Harney at a Meeting of the American Bar Association in the Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin on Friday 21 July 2000|publisher=[[Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment|Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment]]|date=24 September 2001|access-date=19 May 2007|quote=As Irish people our relationships with the United States and the European Union are complex. Geographically we are closer to Berlin than Boston. Spiritually we are probably a lot closer to Boston than Berlin.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504170557/http://www.entemp.ie/press/2000/210700.htm|archive-date=4 May 2007}}</ref> adopting US free-market models for economic development, health, education, and other services rather than [[Social model#Continental European|European Continental]] models because she believed that while continental countries (such as [[Germany]] and [[France]]) have more equality, they had bad economies and high unemployment.

However, in the midst of the ongoing Irish financial crisis, many opponents began to question the legacy of the Progressive Democrats. In a review of the [[Department of Finance (Ireland)|Department of Finance]] Robert Wright, a Canadian economist, singled out the policies of the PDs and [[Fianna Fáil]]'s 2002 election manifestos as contributing significantly to the [[Irish property bubble|2008 property market crash]].<ref name="independent" />

==Leadership history==
===Leader===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Portrait
! Period
! Constituency
|-
| [[Desmond O'Malley]]
|{{CSS image crop|Image =Desmond O'Malley, 1979 (election box crop).tif|bSize = 75|cWidth = 75|cHeight = 100|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| 1985–1993
| [[Limerick East (Dáil constituency)|Limerick East]]
|-
| [[Mary Harney]]
| {{CSS image crop|Image =Mary Harney, 2004 (headshot).jpg|bSize = 75|cWidth = 75|cHeight = 100|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| 1993–2006
| [[Dublin South-West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-West]]<br/>[[Dublin Mid-West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin Mid-West]]
|-
| [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]]
| {{CSS image crop|Image =Michael McDowell, 2004 (cropped).jpg|bSize = 75|cWidth = 75|cHeight = 100|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| 2006–2007
| [[Dublin South-East (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-East]]
|-
| [[Mary Harney]]
| {{CSS image crop|Image =Mary Harney cropped.jpg|bSize = 85|cWidth = 75|cHeight = 100|oTop = 0|oLeft = 5}}
| 2007–2008
| [[Dublin Mid-West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin Mid-West]]
|-
| [[Ciarán Cannon]]
| {{CSS image crop|Image =Ciaran Cannon.jpg|bSize = 85|cWidth = 75|cHeight = 100|oTop = 0|oLeft = 8}}
| 2008–2009
| Senator [[Nominated members of Seanad Éireann|nominated by the Taoiseach]]
|-
| [[Noel Grealish]]
| {{CSS image crop|Image =Noel Grealish (official portrait) 2020 (cropped).jpg|bSize = 85|cWidth = 75|cHeight = 100|oTop = 0|oLeft = 5}}
| 2009
| [[Galway West (Dáil constituency)|Galway West]]
|}

===Deputy leader===
*[[Michael Keating (Irish politician)|Michael Keating]] (1986–1989)
*[[Pearse Wyse]] (1989–1992)
*[[Pat Cox]] (1992–1994)
*[[Liz O'Donnell]] (2006–2007)
*[[Noel Grealish]] (2007–2009)

===President===
*[[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]] (2002–2006)
*[[Tom Parlon]] (2006–2007)

==Election results==
===General election results===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Election
! Seats won
! ±
! Position
! First Pref votes
! %
! Government
! Leader
|-
![[1987 Irish general election|1987]]
| {{Composition bar|14|166|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}}14
| {{increase}}3rd
| 210,583
| 11.8%
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
| [[Desmond O'Malley]]
|-
![[1989 Irish general election|1989]]
| {{Composition bar|6|166|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
| {{decrease}}8
| {{decrease}}5th
| 91,013
| 5.5%
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC" |Coalition <small>(FF-PD)</small>
| [[Desmond O'Malley]]
|-
![[1992 Irish general election|1992]]
| {{Composition bar|10|166|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}}4
| {{increase}}4th
| 80,787
| 4.7%
| style="background-color:#FFCCCC" |Opposition
| [[Desmond O'Malley]]
|-
![[1997 Irish general election|1997]]
| {{Composition bar|4|166|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
| {{decrease}}6
| {{steady}}4th
| 83,765
| 4.7%
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC" |Coalition <small>(FF-PD)</small>
| [[Mary Harney]]
|-
![[2002 Irish general election|2002]]
| {{Composition bar|8|166|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}}4
| {{steady}}4th
| 73,628
| 4.0%
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC" |Coalition <small>(FF-PD)</small>
| [[Mary Harney]]
|-
![[2007 Irish general election|2007]]
| {{Composition bar|2|166|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
| {{decrease}}6
| {{decrease}}6th
| 56,396
| 2.73%
| style="background-color:#CCFFCC" |Coalition <small>(FF-GP-PD)</small>
| [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]]
|}

===Local government election results===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size:100%"
|-
! Election
! Leader
! First pref. <br/>vote
! Vote %
! Seats
|-
! [[1991 Irish local elections|1991]]
| [[Desmond O'Malley]]
| 70,926
| 5.0%
| align=left|{{Composition bar|37|883|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
|-
! [[1994 Irish local elections|1994]]
| [[Mary Harney]]
| 8,077
| 3.24%
| align=left|{{Composition bar|18|744|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
|-
! [[1999 Irish local elections|1999]]
| [[Mary Harney]]
| 41,362
| 2.9%
| align=left|{{Composition bar|25|883|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
|-
! [[2004 Irish local elections|2004]]
| [[Mary Harney]]
| 69,650
| 3.8%
| align=left|{{Composition bar|33|1627|hex={{party color|Progressive Democrats}}}}
|}

==See also==
* [[:Category:Progressive Democrats politicians]]
* [[Young Progressive Democrats]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070701175745/http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/ Progressive Democrats website – from the Wayback machine – 1 July 2007]

{{Progressive Democrats|state=expanded}}
{{Historic Irish parties|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Progressive Democrats| ]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1985]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 2009]]
[[Category:Classical liberal parties]]
[[Category:Defunct liberal political parties]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:2009 disestablishments in Ireland]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in Ireland]]
[[Category:Neoliberal parties]]