Mark Wall (politician) explained

Mark Wall (born 13 January 1970) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare South constituency since the 2024 general election. He previously served as a Senator on the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 2020 to 2024.^[1]

Biography

Wall attended Churchtown national school and Scoil Eoin in Athy, and later received a Diploma in Marketing and Business Studies from the Institute of Technology, Carlow.

His father, Jack Wall was a senator from 1993 to 1997, and a TD from 1997 to 2016.^[2]

Political career

He was first elected to Kildare County Council at the 2009 Kildare County Council election and additionally to Athy Town Council at the same time.^[3] Wall served as Deputy Mayor of Athy in 2012, Mayor of Athy in 2012–2013, Mayor of Kildare in 2013–2014 and was elected Chair of Athy Municipal District in 2015. Wall has served as a board member of Scoil Lorcain Castledermot, Kildare Centre for the Unemployed, Churchtown Castlemitchell Community Development Association, Athy Heritage Company and The Willow Project.^[4]

He was an unsuccessful candidate for Kildare South at the 2016 and 2020^[5] general elections, but was elected to the Seanad in 2020.^{[3] [6]}

During his time in the Seanad, Wall has spoken about the issue of gambling addiction and repeatedly raised the issue.^[7] In 2021, Wall introduced a bill to ban gambling advertisements, stating that adequate supports should be "in place to help those suffering from (gambling) addiction".^[8] A survey conducted by Wall in 2021 found that three in every four Irish people knew someone with a gambling addiction, with Wall stating this was "hugely concerning".^[9]

In the 2024 general election, Wall was elected on the 12th count to represent Kildare South.^[10]

External links

• Mark Wall's page on the Labour Party website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mark Wall. Oireachtas Members Database. 21 April 2020. 24 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200724064806/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Mark-Wall.S.2020-03-30/. live.
2. Web site: 2 February 2016 . Jack Wall . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181107145510/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Jack-Wall.S.1993-02-17 . 7 November 2018 . 3 April 2020 . Oireachtas Members Database.
3. Web site: Mark Wall. ElectionsIreland.org. 3 April 2020. 1 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201001113056/https://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=9769. live.
4. Web site: 5 November 2015. Mark Wall - Biography. 14 September 2021. The Labour Party. en. 14 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210914145236/https://www.labour.ie/markwall/biography/. live.
5. News: Election 2020: Kildare South. 10 February 2020. The Irish Times. Dublin. 6 June 2021. live. https://archive.today/20210607063508/https://www.irishtimes.com/election2020/kildare-south. 7 June 2021.
6. News: Hogan . Senan . 26 May 2020 . New face to join Kildare Co Council following election of Mark Wall as Senator . KildareNow . live . 7 June 2021 . https://archive.today/20210607061434/https://www.kildarenow.com/news/home/545529/new-face-to-join-kildare-co-council-following-election-of-mark-wall-as-senator.html . 7 June 2021.
7. Web site: News Desk . 16 July 2021 . Gambling among young people must stop according to Labour Senator Mark Wall . 3 March 2022 . South East Radio . en.
8. Web site: Blaney . Ferghal . 18 February 2021 . Labour seeks ban on all gambling adverts despite financial black hole fears . 3 March 2022. Irish Mirror . en.
9. Web site: Three in four Irish people know someone who is battling with a gambling addiction . 3 March 2022. 19 March 2021 . Irish Independent . en.
10. Web site: Mark Wall and Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh are elected in Kildare South. Irish Independent. Hannah. Daygo. 1 December 2024. 1 December 2024.