Early Political Career
In the 1979 European Parliament elections Dukes stood as a Fine Gael candidate in the Munster constituency. He was on course to be elected thanks to strong farming support until the entry of farming leader T. J. Maher as an independent candidate. Maher subsequently topped the poll.
He stood again for Fine Gael in the 1981 general election in the expanded constituency of Kildare, where he won a seat in the 22nd Dáil. On his first day in the Dáil he was appointed Minister for Agriculture by the Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, becoming one of only five TD's so appointed. He held this seat for 21 years.
This minority Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition government collapsed in February 1982 over controversial budget reforms, but returned to power with a working majority in December of that year. Dukes was again called into the cabinet becoming Minister for Finance less than two years into his Dáil career.
He faced a difficult task as Finance Minister at this time. Ireland was heavily in debt while unemployment and emigration were high. Many of Fine Gael's ambitious plans had to be deferred while the Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition disagreed on how to solve the economic crisis. The challenge of addressing the national finances was made difficult by electoral arithmetic and a lack of support from the opposition Fianna Fáil party led by Charles Haughey.
Dukes remained in the Department of Finance until the withdrawal of the Labour Party members from the government in 1986. As part of the subsequent reshuffle, he was appointed Minister for Justice.
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