Michael Wallace (born 9 November 1955) is an Irish politician and former property developer who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency since July 2019. He is a member of Independents 4 Change, part of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency from 2011 to 2019. Entering politics in 2011 following the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, Wallace was almost immediately considered to be one of the most eccentric and unconventional figures in Irish national politics.
Wallace gained a reputation for anti-establishment and left-wing populist views, and became a frequent guest on the political debate show Tonight with Vincent Browne in the process. He soon aligned himself with Clare Daly, forming a political duo still operating as a unit today. In 2012, it emerged that during his time as a property developer, Wallace's company owed €2.1 million to the state in unpaid value-added taxes.
Since becoming an MEP in 2019, Wallace has also gained attention for his foreign policy views, particularly regarding China and Russia, which has been largely critical of his positions.
Personal life
Wallace was born in Wellingtonbridge in County Wexford, Ireland in 1955. One of a family of 12 children, he graduated from University College Dublin with a teaching qualification. He married Mary Murphy from Duncormick, County Wexford in 1979; the couple had two sons, but the marriage ended when the children were young. Wallace had two more children from another relationship in the 1990s.
In 2007, Wallace founded the Wexford Football Club which he managed for their first three seasons, and is chairman of its board. The club is in the League of Ireland First Division.
Prior to entering politics Wallace owned a property development and construction company completing developments such as The Italian Quarter in the Ormond Quay area of the Dublin quays. The company later collapsed into liquidation, with Wallace finally being declared bankrupt on 19 December 2016.
Political career
Wallace has held various positions at both a national and European level as a politician.
2011 general election
On 5 February 2011, while a guest on Tonight with Vincent Browne, Wallace made the announcement that he intended to contest the upcoming general election on 25 February as an Independent candidate. He topped the poll in the Wexford constituency with 13,329 votes. According to John Dwyer, who stood against him in that election, Wallace's tax affairs were "the talk of the pubs, all of these things were known. Because he was such a rebel, because he was prepared to stick the finger up at the authorities, he got elected."
Independents 4 Change
Wallace is the listed officer of the Independents 4 Change, which was registered to stand for elections in March 2014 and along with Clare Daly is one of two MEPs which represent the party in the European parliament.
During their time in the Dáil, Wallace and Dublin North TD Clare Daly became friends and political allies, and worked together on many campaigns, including opposition to austerity and highlighting revelations of alleged Garda malpractices, including harassment, improper cancellation of penalty points and involvement of officers in the drug trade. Wallace and Daly were partially active in protesting the Garda whistleblower scandal, which eventually caused the resignation of Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, although she was later cleared of wrongdoing by the Charleton Tribunal.
2016 general election
At the 2016 general election, Wallace stood as an Independents 4 Change candidate and was re-elected, finishing third on the first-preference count with 7,917 votes.
Political views during his time in the Dáil
Wallace has stated that the welfare of women working in prostitution would be improved if the trade were not pushed underground.
He said he was "a bit flabbergasted" by the introduction of the household charge brought in as part of the 2012 Budget, and by how that party had changed from when it was in opposition. On 15 December 2011, he helped to launch a nationwide campaign against the household charge.
Wallace was criticised and accused of "defending terrorism" by Joan Burton, then Ireland's Tánaiste, for comments he made during the November 2015 Paris attacks. While the attacks were unfolding, Wallace posted on his Twitter account "So terrible for the victims, but when is France going to stop its role in the militarisation of the planet?", sparking an angry reaction on social media.