Michael McGrath (born 23 August 1976) 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 Christia ...

politician who has served as Minister for Finance since December 2022. He previously served as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform from 2020 to 2022. 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 Cork South-Central constituency since 2007.

Early life

McGrath was born in Cork in 1976. He studied commerce at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

and later qualified as a chartered accountant. His parents are described as having been non-political.

Political career

He was a member of

Passage West Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork city. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets. Passage West wa ...

Town Council from 1999 to 2007, and a member of

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

for the

Carrigaline Carrigaline () is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork city, and with a population of 15,770 people, it is one of the largest commuter towns of the city. The R611 regiona ...

local electoral area from 2004 to 2007. McGrath was first elected to the Dáil in 2007, and subsequently, he co-oped his brother Séamus to his county council seat. Séamus would, reportedly, become McGrath's closest political confidant. McGrath was one of the few Fianna Fáil TDs to survive their disastrous performance in the 2011 general election. In the aftermath, McGrath became the Opposition Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Financial Sector Reform, but also held the role of Spokesperson for Finance following the death of Brian Lenihan in June 2011. McGrath represented Fianna Fáil in the Oireachtas delegation that met the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

's Budgetary and European Affairs committees, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in late January 2012. He represented Fianna Fáil in talks on government formation in 2016 and 2020. At the 2020 general election, McGrath outpolled his party leader

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...

, with whom he shares a constituency. In June 2020, following the formation of a coalition government between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

, McGrath was appointed as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. McGrath became Minister for Finance on 17 December 2022 as part of a cabinet reshuffle when Leo Varadkar succeeded Micheál Martin as Taoiseach as agreed in the coalition deal between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party.

Political views and profile

McGrath has been described as being on the right wing of Fianna Fáil and as conservative, both socially and economically. A father of seven children by the time he was 41, McGrath was starkly opposed to the legalisation of abortion in the Republic of Ireland when it was put to a referendum in 2016. Fiscally, McGrath has opposed calls from within his own party to increase social welfare allowances and has been called a proponent of economic orthodoxy. A chartered accountant, McGrath has been described as "

technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...

" and likened to a civil servant in his approach to politics. His grasp of economics, as well as his attention to detail, have been praised as his strong points. , many political commentators in Ireland have suggested that McGrath is a potent contender for the leadership of Fianna Fáil the next time the position comes up for contention.

References

External links

Michael McGrath's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Michael 1976 births Living people Alumni of University College Cork Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Politicians from County Cork Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform