Born in 1969. He studied history and sociology at the National University of Ireland, St Patricks College Maynooth and also at Trinity College Dublin. Prior to his election to the Irish Parliament, he worked as the National Youth & Education Officer to Fine Gael. He was also delegation secretary to Fine Gael during the Peace & Reconciliation Forum. He served as a Member of the Irish Parliament from 1997-2002 and 2007-2014 and was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 2002-2007. In 2011, he was appointed Minister of State at the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform, a position he held until his election to the European Parliament. During this time, he attended Eurogroup, ECOFIN and Budgetary Council meetings on behalf of the Irish Government. As Irish Minister of State, he was responsible for procurement reform, public sector reform, the Office of Public Works and developing flood alleviation projects in Ireland. MEP since 2014.