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Minister for Justice and Equality
In office 9 March 2011 – 7 May 2014
Taoiseach	Enda Kenny
Preceded by	Brendan Smith (Justice and Law Reform)
Succeeded by	Frances Fitzgerald
Minister for Defence
In office 9 March 2011 – 7 May 2014
Taoiseach	Enda Kenny
Preceded by	Éamon Ó Cuív
Succeeded by	Enda Kenny (acting)
Teachta Dála
In office May 2007 – February 2016
In office June 1981 – May 2002
Constituency	Dublin South

Personal details
Born	(1951-02-14) 14 February 1951 (age 74) Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Independent Fine Gael (to 2018)
Spouse	Carol Ann Danker (m. 1982)
Children	2
Education	The High School, Dublin
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin

Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author, and former politician. He was a member of the Fine Gael political party for many years. He served as a government minister, holding the roles of Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014.

Before becoming a minister, he was a Teachta Dála (TD), which is a member of the Irish Parliament. He represented the Dublin South area from 1981 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2016. After leaving Fine Gael in 2018, he ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 general election but was not elected.

Beyond politics, Alan Shatter has written several books. These include Life is a Funny Business (2017), Frenzy and Betrayal: The Anatomy of a Political Assassination (2019), and Cyril's Lottery of Life (2023). He also writes opinion articles for various newspapers. He is involved with campaigns like the Inheritance Tax Reform Campaign and Magen David Adom Ireland.

About Alan Shatter's Life

Early Life and Education

Alan Shatter was born in Dublin, Ireland. His parents, Elaine and Reuben Shatter, were from England. He went to The High School, Dublin, and then studied at Trinity College Dublin. He also studied at the Europa Institute of the University of Amsterdam. When he was a teenager, he spent two months working on a kibbutz in Israel.

Family and Home

Alan Shatter has lived most of his life in Dublin. He grew up in areas like Rathgar and Rathfarnham. Today, he lives in Ballinteer with his wife, Carol Ann (Danker) Shatter. They have two adult children.

His Work as a Lawyer and Author

Legal Career Highlights

Before becoming a full-time politician, Alan Shatter was a partner in a law firm in Dublin called Gallagher Shatter. This was from 1977 to 2011. As a solicitor, he worked on many important cases in the High Court and Supreme Court.

He also wrote major books about Irish family law. These books suggested big changes to the law. Later, as a politician, he helped make many of those changes happen. He was also the chairperson of Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC). This group helps people get legal advice for free. He also led CARE, an organization that worked for child care and children's laws in the 1970s.

Books He Has Written

Alan Shatter has written several books. One of his early books was a funny, satirical book called Family Planning Irish Style (1979). He also wrote a novel called Laura (1989).

His book Life is a Funny Business (2017) is about his life before he became a TD. Frenzy and Betrayal: The Anatomy of a Political Assassination (2019) tells his side of the story about some difficult events before he left the government in 2014. In 2023, he published Cyril's Lottery of Life, a comedy book about an English solicitor.

His Time in Politics

Starting in Public Service

Alan Shatter began his political career in 1979. He won a seat on Dublin County Council, which is a local government body. He kept this seat until 1999. In 1981, he was first elected to the Dáil Éireann, Ireland's main parliament. He was re-elected several times until 2002, and then again from 2007 to 2016.

Making New Laws

While he was not in government, Alan Shatter introduced many new laws himself. This is called a "private member's bill." One important law he helped create was the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act in 1989. This law made big changes to how family law worked in Ireland.

He also introduced the Adoption Act in 1991. This law was important because it was the first time Ireland officially recognized adoptions made in other countries. He also worked on ideas for environmental protection, which led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992.

Working on Committees

Alan Shatter was a member of several important committees in the Irish Parliament. He helped set up the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs in 1992 and was its chairman for a time. He also served on the Committee on Justice, Law Reform, and Defence.

He founded the Ireland–Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group. In 1985, he visited the Soviet Union to meet with Jewish families who were not allowed to leave the country. He spoke out about their situation and helped bring attention to human rights issues. He also worked on a committee that helped shape the children's rights amendment to the Irish Constitution in 2012.

In 1998, he wrote a report that suggested ways to control smoking and tobacco advertising. Many of his ideas were later put into law by the government.

Minister for Justice and Equality (2011–2014)

Shatter (second from left) with other Fine Gael politicians at the Aviva Stadium following the 2011 election

In 2011, Alan Shatter was appointed as the Minister for Justice and Equality. In this role, he worked on many important changes to Irish law.

Citizenship and Immigration

He made big reforms to Ireland's citizenship laws. He introduced the first-ever citizenship ceremony in Ireland in June 2011, where new citizens take an oath. He also helped clear a large number of old citizenship applications, allowing 69,000 people to become Irish citizens. He aimed to process most applications within six months. He also helped more political refugees come to Ireland and created a special plan for Syrian families affected by the civil war to join their relatives in Ireland.

Legal System Reforms

He introduced laws to help investigate financial crimes and white-collar crime. He also worked on reforming the Irish prison system. This included improving conditions in prisons, like ending "slopping out" (where prisoners had to use buckets for toilets). He also encouraged courts to use community service more often for minor offenses.

He tried to modernize the legal profession to make legal services more affordable and competitive. This bill faced a lot of opposition but was designed to help reduce legal costs.

Marriage Equality and Courts

In 2013, he suggested that a referendum on marriage equality should be held. This led to the historic vote in 2015 that allowed same-sex marriage in Ireland. He also published a draft law to update child and family law, which became the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.

He was also responsible for two changes to the Irish Constitution that were approved by public vote. One allowed judges' pay to be reduced (2011), and the other created a new Court of Appeal (2013) to handle appeals more quickly.

Minister for Defence (2011–2014)

As Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter made changes to the Irish Defence Forces. He strongly supported Ireland's military involvement in international peacekeeping missions. He visited Irish troops serving with the United Nations in the Middle East.

Under his leadership, contracts were signed to buy new naval ships. These ships are now part of the Irish naval service and have helped rescue refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. He also passed a law to pardon and apologize to Irish soldiers who left the army during World War 2 to fight against Nazi Germany. These soldiers had been treated poorly after the war.

Important Inquiries and Resignation

Alan Shatter's time as Minister for Justice involved several public inquiries. These inquiries looked into various issues within the police force (Garda Síochána) and the Justice Department.

GSOC Bugging Affair

In 2014, there were reports that the offices of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) might have been bugged. GSOC is responsible for investigating wrongdoing by the police. Alan Shatter, as Justice Minister, was involved in addressing these concerns. He stated there was no evidence that the offices had been bugged or that the police were involved. An independent inquiry later confirmed that there was no evidence of bugging.

Whistleblower Concerns

Another issue involved a police whistleblower, Sergeant Maurice McCabe. A recording of a conversation between a confidential recipient (someone who takes complaints from police officers) and McCabe was made public. In the recording, the confidential recipient seemed to suggest that if Alan Shatter thought McCabe was causing trouble, McCabe's career would be "finished." Alan Shatter denied ever making such threats and later removed the confidential recipient from his role. A later report, the O'Higgins Report, confirmed that Alan Shatter had not made any threats against McCabe.

Resignation

On 7 May 2014, Alan Shatter resigned from his roles as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence. This followed a report by Seán Guerin into complaints made by Sergeant Maurice McCabe. The Guerin report criticized Alan Shatter's handling of the complaints. However, Alan Shatter challenged these conclusions, saying he was not interviewed or given a chance to respond.

Later, a sworn investigation called the O'Higgins Report (2016) found that Alan Shatter had handled McCabe's complaints properly. In 2019, the Supreme Court also ruled that Alan Shatter had been denied a fair hearing by the Guerin inquiry. The Supreme Court stated that the Guerin report had no right to criticize him and had violated his constitutional rights. As a result, the critical parts of the Guerin Report were removed from government records.

After leaving government, Alan Shatter ran for election again in 2016 but did not win his seat. He later wrote a book about these events, discussing how false stories can spread in politics.