Jack Chambers (born 21 November 1990) is an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

politician who has served as a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

attending cabinet since July 2020, and served as Government Chief Whip from July 2020 to December 2022. He has been a Minister of State at various departments since June 2020. He 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 Dublin West constituency since the 2016 general election.

Early and personal life

Chambers was born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in 1990, but has lived in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

since early childhood. He resides in the

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal. In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...

area of west Dublin. His father, Frank Chambers, from

Newport, County Mayo Newport (), historically known as Ballyveaghan and for many years also known as Newport-Pratt, is a small town in the barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo, Ireland. The population was 626 in 2016. It is located on the west coast of Ireland, along ...

, is a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

at the

Mater Private Hospital The Mater Private Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Príobháideach an Mater) is a private hospital business. Its main hospital is located just to the east of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. In addition to the main hospital ...

, and was a political ally of

Brian Lenihan Jnr Brian Joseph Lenihan (21 May 1959 – 10 June 2011) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Finance from 2008 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from March 2011 to June 2011, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law ...

. His mother, Barbara Farragher, is from

Hollymount Hollymount () is a village on the R331 regional road in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies midway between the towns of Ballinrobe and Claremorris in the plains of south Mayo. It has a post office, a mini-mart, a community centre (Cois Abhainn), a ...

, County Mayo. He is not related to the senator Lisa Chambers. He attended

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

and earned a Law and Political Science degree from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, before enrolling in medicine at

RCSI The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

, graduating in 2020 after interrupting his studies early in his political career.

Political career

In 2014, Chambers reopened the constituency office closed after the death of Brian Lenihan in 2011. He was elected to

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...

in the 2014 local elections, topping the poll in the Castleknock

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average po ...

. He was Deputy Mayor of

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...

from 2015 until vacating his council seat on election to the Dáil. In March 2018,

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...

appointed Chambers as Spokesperson for

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

. On 3 May 2018, he, along with several other Fianna Fáil TDs, called for a No vote in the referendum to remove the constitutional article which prohibited abortion by recognising the equal right to life of the unborn. He has since stated that his position has evolved and that he supports women being able to access terminations up to 12 weeks of pregnancy in all circumstances. At the 2020 general election, he was re-elected as a TD for Dublin West. When Martin became Taoiseach, he nominated Chambers as

Minister of State at the Department of Finance The Minister of State at the Department of Finance is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Finance of the Government of Ireland. A Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed u ...

on 1 July 2020. Two weeks later, after

Barry Cowen Barry Cowen (born 28 August 1967) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2011 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Offaly ...

was sacked as

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( ga, An tAire Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Historically, the agriculture portfol ...

, Martin promoted

Dara Calleary Dara Calleary (born 10 May 1973) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation since August 2022. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency since th ...

to replace Cowen, with Chambers succeeding Calleary as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for Sport and the

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...

. Chambers said he would take an "intensive Irish language course" to prepare for the latter responsibility, as he does not speak Irish fluently. On 17 November 2020, Chambers was appointed to the additional post of

Minister of State at the Department of Defence The Minister of State at the Department of Defence ( ga, Aire Stáit ag an Roinn Cosanta) is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Defence of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Minister for Def ...

. In December 2022, after

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...

became Taoiseach, Chambers was reassigned as

Minister of State at the Department of Transport The Minister of State at the Department of Transport is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Transport of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Transport. A Minister of State does not hold ca ...

with special responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics and

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications The Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated ...

with special responsibility for Postal Policy.

References

External links

*
Jack Chambers' page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Jack 1990 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fianna Fáil TDs Local councillors in Fingal Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil People educated at Belvedere College People from Castleknock Politicians from Fingal Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Government Chief Whip (Ireland)