Frank Feighan (; born 4 July 1962) is an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician who has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Sligo–Leitrim constituency since

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, and previously from 2007 to 2016 for the Roscommon–South Leitrim constituency. He served as a

Minister of State at the Department of Health The Minister of State at the Department of Health is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Health of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Health. A Minister of State Minister of State is ...

from July 2020 to December 2022. He previously served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

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from 2002 to 2007 and from 2016 to 2020, after being

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Early and personal life

Feighan was born in Sligo in 1966, but is a native of

Boyle, County Roscommon Boyle (; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gara a ...

. He is married and has two children. He lives in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

with his family. He took part in the

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

charity show, ''

You're a Star ''You're a Star'' is an Irish music competition series broadcast by RTÉ One from 2002 to 2008. Produced by the broadcaster and Screentime ShinAwiL, the series was similar to formats such as ''Idol'' and ''The X Factor''. For its first three se ...

'' in 2006 to raise funds for a children's charity. In 2008, Feighan appeared on the Irish times list of TDs with notable private portfolios. Ownership of multiple properties in addition to shares in mining companies, along with shares in financial institutions are listed. On 7 November 2021, Feighan experienced symptoms of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and a positive test result was announced the next day.

Political career

He was a member of

Roscommon County Council Roscommon County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Ros Comáin) is the authority responsible for local government in County Roscommon, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

from 1999 to 2004. Feighan was first elected to the Dáil at the 2007 general election. He was the party deputy Spokesperson on Transport and Education with special responsibility for Rural and School Transport from 2007 to 2010. In July 2010, he was appointed as party spokesperson on Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. He was re-elected at the 2011 general election. In government he voted with Fine Gael on the Roscommon Hospital issue on 6 July 2011, when his constituency colleague

Denis Naughten Denis Naughten (born 23 June 1973) is an Irish Independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Roscommon–Galway constituency since 2016, and previously from 2007 to 2016 for the Roscommon–South Leitrim constituency and fro ...

voted against them and lost the Fine Gael party whip. He told the Dáil he was "sincerely sorry" for breaking a pre-election promise in relation to the issue. On 13 July 2015, he announced that he would not be contesting the 2016 general election. Shortly before the

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voted to leave the

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he expressed his wishes for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

to rejoin the

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. He was the Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Mental Health and Older People. In July 2020, following the formation of the

32nd Government of Ireland 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, Feighan was appointed as

with responsibility for Public Health, Well Being and the National Drugs Strategy. In May 2021, Feighan's proposal to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Ireland was approved by cabinet ministers. Under this legislation, a 10 cent per gram of alcohol minimum cost would be installed, with the minister citing that for example a 70cl bottle of vodka would now cost at a minimum €20.71. A decision by the Department of Health on the suspension of the North Inner City Drugs Task Force in July 2021 was criticized by the group's director Professor Joe Barry. Feighan, as minister with responsibility for drugs strategy, defended the decision due to "governance shortcomings" in the group. Barry contested that the decision has been carried out to "remove every shred of independence from the task force by taking over the appointment of the chair and the appointment of members". He was criticised in July 2022 after privately meeting with an anti-cannabis lobby group, known as the Cannabis Risk Alliance. Dr. Garrett McGovern said "If Frank Feighan was willing to meet with one group, he should have met another group who are pro-cannabis legalisation and against prohibition". He was not re-appointed as a junior minister as part of the 33rd Government of Ireland in December 2022.

References

External links

Frank Feighan's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feighan, Frank 1962 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Local councillors in County Roscommon Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 25th Seanad Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Politicians from County Roscommon You're a Star contestants Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fine Gael senators Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil