Barry Desmond

Barry Desmond (born 15 May 1935) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who was Minister for Health from 1982 to 1987 and Minister for Social Welfare from 1982 to 1986. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1969 to 1989,

Political career Desmond first entered Dáil Éireann at the 1969 general election, when he was elected as a Labour Party TD for Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown. He retained his seat in 1973. He was then elected in 1977 at Dún Laoghaire, where he won a seat at every election until he retired from the Dáil in 1989. From 1981 to 1982, he served as Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for Economic Planning, under Garret FitzGerald as Taoiseach. In 1982, after Michael O'Leary's resignation as Labour Party leader, Dick Spring was elected as the party's new leader and Desmond was chosen as his deputy.

After the November 1982 general election, Fine Gael and the Labour Party formed a majority government. In the second FitzGerald administration, Desmond was appointed Minister for Social Welfare and Minister for Health. FitzGerald began a major cabinet reshuffle in February 1986, intending to appoint him as Minister for Justice; Desmond refused, and Spring supported him in that attitude. He remained as Minister for Health while Gemma Hussey took on the Social Welfare portfolio.

On 20 January 1987, the Labour ministers resigned from the government; this led to the 1987 general election, as a result of which Fianna Fáil returned to office. Desmond did not contest the 1989 general election. On 15 June 1989, he was elected as a Labour Party MEP for Dublin, serving until 1994. He then served as a member of the European Court of Auditors from 1994 to 2000, being replaced by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.

After politics Desmond was elected president of the Maritime Institute of Ireland on 18 November 2006. He remains a member of the Council of the Maritime Institute of Ireland. As president, he oversaw the revision of its articles of association and the securing of €3.2 million in funding for the restoration of Mariners' Church, Dún Laoghaire, which houses the National Maritime Museum of Ireland.