Patrick Breen (born 21 March 1957) is an Irish former

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 É ...

politician who 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 ot ...

from 2016 to 2020. He served as 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 Parlia ...

(TD) for the Clare constituency from 2002 to 2020. Having been a member of

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

and the Vocational Educational Committee from June 1999 to May 2002, Breen was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland reads: ...

at the 2002 general election. He was the Chairman of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): **Dáil Éireann ...

Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee and is deputy leader of the Irish Delegation to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a ...

. While Fine Gael were in opposition, Breen was the Fine Gael deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, with special responsibility for Human Rights and Overseas Development Aid; and deputy Spokesperson on Transport and Enterprise, and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, with special responsibility for Small Business. He has also served as a member of the

Transport Committee, the Privileges and Procedures Committee, the House Services Committee and the Committee on Enterprise and Small Business. On 19 May 2016, on the nomination of

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition ...

, he was appointed by the Fine Gael–Independent government as Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with special responsibility for Employment and Small Business. On 20 June 2017, on the nomination of

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 D ...

, he was appointed by the Fine Gael–Independent government as Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, at the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, at the Department of the Taoiseach and at the Department of Justice and Equality with special responsibility for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection.; He lost his seat at the 2020 general election, continuing in office as a junior minister until the formation of a new government on 27 June 2020.

References

External links

*
Pat Breen's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Pat 1957 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Local councillors in County Clare Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Ministers of State of the 32nd Dáil Politicians from County Clare