Seán Sherlock

Early life

Born in Mallow, County Cork, Sherlock is the son of Joe Sherlock, then an Official Sinn Féin local councillor. He was educated locally at St. Patrick's boys' national school and the Patrician Academy before later attending the College of Commerce in Cork. Sherlock subsequently studied at University College Galway where he completed a degree in Economics and Politics.

Political career

Sherlock first became directly involved in politics when he served a six-month internship with MEP Proinsias De Rossa in his office in the European Parliament. Following the completion of his internship he was offered a full-time job working as an assistant to de Rossa.

In 2002 Sherlock served as election manager for his father in his attempt to win back a seat at the general election as a Labour Party candidate. The campaign was a successful one and Joe Sherlock returned to Dáil Éireann after a ten-year absence.

The abolition of the dual mandate in 2003 meant that Sherlock's father had to vacate his seats on Mallow Town Council and Cork County Council. Sherlock was chosen as his replacement and he was co-opted onto both councils that year. The following year he won both seats in his own right when he was successful at the local elections. Sherlock was then elected mayor of Mallow.

When Sherlock's father announced that he would not be contesting the 2007 general election, Sherlock was once again chosen as a replacement candidate. He contested the Cork East constituency for the Labour Party and was elected. A Fianna Fáil-headed government returned to power once again. Sherlock was subsequently appointed Labour Party spokesperson on Agriculture and Food.

Sherlock retained his Dáil seat at the 2011 general election after topping the poll in Cork East. When the new coalition government was formed he was tipped for possible inclusion at the cabinet, however, he joined the junior ministerial ranks as Minister of State for Research and Innovation.

Copyright legislation

In January 2012, Sherlock proposed legislation giving copyright holders the right to seek an injunction against copyright violators. A group called 'Stop SOPA Ireland" petitioned against the legislation. Comparisons have been made between these reforms and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the United States. Sherlock said these comparisons were "not based on fact". According to the Irish government, the legislation is intended to close a loophole after a High Court case in 2010 where EMI sued UPC, an internet service provider, over illegal downloads. A denial-of-service attack was performed against government websites in protest over the changes.

On 29 February 2012, Sherlock signed the legislation into law. He cited Ireland's "obligations under EU law”. Subsequently, the legislation resulted in the blocking of The Pirate Bay in Ireland.

Minister of State: 2014–2016

On 15 July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State with responsibility for Overseas Development Assistance, Trade Promotion and North South cooperation at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Following the 2016 general election, Labour returned to opposition, much reduced in numbers. He remained as Minister of State in an acting capacity during prolonged talks on government formation, earning €23,391 in that time.