Progressive Democrats
21 December 1985
['1 january 1940', '11 february 1991', '4 october 1992', '7 february 1915', '1 january 1986', '30 april 2004', '15 september 1989', '1 january 2010', '27 june 1973', '18 august 1949', '4 november 2001', '27 august 1991', '28 october 1918', '1 july 1968', '19 march 2014', '8 june 1923', '22 september 1989', '26 june 2010', '2 november 1982', '31 december 1998', '1 march 1932', '3 august 1778', '12 february 1945', '31 august 1975', '4 october 2009', '26 april 1965', '10 july 2000', '1 january 1870', '15 december 1954', '2 september 1990', '12 september 2012', '19 november 1967', '25 june 1914', '14 december 2013', '7 october 1949', '16 march 1911', '9 october 1984', '6 december 1922', '1 june 1992', '1 january 2014', '3 june 1970', '7 january 1977', '27 october 1942', '30 june 1946', '1 may 2003', '28 december 1934', '1 july 1933', '29 march 2009', '28 october 2014', '8 december 1946', '10 february 1931', '18 april 1980', '21 october 1969', '1 january 2011', '9 may 1974', '7 october 2007', '12 july 2007', '1 november 2010', '28 march 1849', '1 august 1927', '12 april 1995', '24 august 1993', '27 march 1971', '11 november 2009', '10 october 2010', '9 october 1991', '1 september 2004', '18 august 2010', '24 may 1985', '1 january 2002', '1 february 2007', '1 june 1866', '31 august 1957', '1 april 2011', '1 february 2002', '1 january 1908', '8 august 1994', '1 january 1942', '14 december 1921', '6 june 2006', '1 april 1982', '16 december 1989', '5 may 1923', '27 september 1967', '12 july 1960', '28 december 1975', '22 october 2009', '17 june 1944', '24 january 1857', '2 october 1993', '1 january 1921', '15 april 1983', '26 march 1971', '30 april 1918', '5 december 2002', '16 november 2009', '22 august 1999', '28 march 1992', '18 july 1946']
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats (Irish: An Páirtí Daonlathach, lit.: The Democratic Party), commonly known as the PDs, was a liberal and conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. 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, contraception, and other social issues. The party also supported economic liberalisation, advocating measures such as lower taxation, fiscal conservatism, privatisation, and welfare reform. It enjoyed an impressive début at the 1987 general election, winning 14 seats in Dáil Éireann and capturing almost 12 percent of the popular vote to temporarily surpass the Labour Party as Ireland's third-largest political party. Although the Progressive Democrats never again won more than 10 seats in the Dáil, they formed coalition governments with Fianna Fáil during the 26th Dáil (1989–92), the 28th Dáil (1997–2002), the 29th Dáil (2002–07) and the 30th Dail (2007–09). 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. In particular, the party has been credited with shaping the low-tax, pro-business environment that contributed to Ireland's Celtic Tiger economic boom during the 1990s and 2000s, as well as blamed for contributing to the subsequent Irish financial and economic crisis. On 8 November 2008 the party began the process of disbanding, and was formally dissolved on 20 November 2009. The two Progressive Democrat politicians elected to the 30th Dáil, Mary Harney and Noel Grealish, continued to support the government as independent TDs, and Mary Harney also continued as Minister for Health and Children. The party was a member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR). Its youth wing was the Young Progressive Democrats.