Niamh Bhreathnach

Niamh Bhreathnach (born 1945), was a senior Irish Labour Party politician. She served as Minister for Education from 1993 until 1997. She was a TD for Dún Laoghaire from 1992 until 1997.

Niamh Bhreathnach was born in Dublin in 1945. She was educated at Sion Hill and Froebel Teacher Training College, Dublin where she qualified as a remedial teacher. Bhreathnach was chairwoman of the Labour Party from 1990 until 1993. She was elected as a Labour Party TD for the first time in 1992, serving until 1997. In 1993 she became Minister for Education in the Fianna Fáil-Labour Party coalition. She remained in that post during the Rainbow Coalition until 1997 during this time tuition fees for third level institutions were abolished. She lost her Dáil seat in 1997 and is still a member of Dun Laoighaire Rathdown County Council.

Political Career