Hildegarde Naughton (born 1 May 1977) 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 served as Government Chief Whip and

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 ...

since December 2022. She 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 ...

attending cabinet since June 2020. She 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 Galway West constituency since

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. She previously served as Chair of the Committee on Communications, Climate Action and the Environment from 2016 to 2020 and

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. The ...

from 2011 to 2012. She also served as a Senator from 2013 to 2016, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.

Personal life

Naughton was born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

in 1977, she is from

Oranmore Oranmore ( or ''Úarán Mór'') is a town near the city of Galway in County Galway, Ireland. It is also the name of the civil parish and Roman Catholic parish in which the town lies. It is east of Galway city on the edge of Oranmore Bay, an i ...

. Naughton is the only daughter of P.J. and Marguerite Naughton. Her father was a member of the Fine Gael National Executive. She was teacher at St. Patrick's Boys School in Galway. She is a classically trained soprano, and in 2008 won the Association of Irish Musical Societies' Best Actress award for her role as

Eliza Doolittle Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play '' Pygmalion'' (1913) and its 1956 musical adaptation, ''My Fair Lady''. Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower woman, who comes to Prof ...

in the Galway Patrician Musical Society's production of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

''. She speaks fluent French. She was co-ordinator of the 2007 Telethon

People in Need People in Need (PIN) ( cz, Člověk v tísni) is a Czech nonprofit, non-governmental organisation based in Prague, Czech Republic. PIN implements humanitarian relief and long term development projects, educational programmes, and human rights pr ...

Campaign for Galway City and County, which raised over €300,000 for local charities.

Political career

Naughton surprised many by unseating party colleague John Mulholland at the 2009 local election in the Galway City West

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 p ...

(

Salthill Salthill () is a seaside area in the City of Galway in the west of Ireland. Lying within the townland of Lenaboy (''an Léana Buí''), it attracts many tourists all year round. There is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as ''the Pro ...

Claddagh Claddagh () is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of ...

-Knocknacarra). John Cunningham suggested that personal networking, effective postering, and the endorsement of Maureen Egan aided her victory. After her election, she was a director on Galway City Partnership Board and a member of Galway City Council's Transport Strategic Policy Committee and the Galway City

Vocational Education Committee A Vocational Education Committee (VEC) ( ga, Coiste Gairmoideachais) was a statutory local education body in Ireland that administered some secondary education, most adult education and a very small amount of primary education in the state. Before ...

. Naughton ran unsuccessfully for the Dáil at the 2011 general election in Galway West. During the campaign in January, she alleged that councillors had been "doing the bidding" of a "hidden elite" for 20 years. In June, she was Fine Gael's choice for

for 2011–12, part of a pact rotating the post between Fine Gael, Labour Party, and some Independent members. Her nomination was in doubt after Councillors objected to her allegation the previous January. She unreservedly withdrew the comments before the mayoral vote was taken. She caused controversy when she used her

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

as Mayor to deny David Norris the right to address Galway City Council during his campaign to get a nomination for the 2011 presidential election. She later claimed it was a "misunderstanding". At the 2011 general election, Naughton was one of four Fine Gael candidates for the five seats in Galway West;

Seán Kyne Seán Kyne (born 16 May 1975) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel since March 2020, and previously from February 2020 to March 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. He served as ...

and Brian Walsh were elected, while Naughton and

Fidelma Healy Eames Fidelma Healy Eames (born 14 July 1962) is a former Irish politician and former member of Seanad Éireann. She was first elected to the Senate in 2007 by the Labour Panel. As a member of the Reform Alliance group, she sat as an independent se ...

were unsuccessful. In July 2013, Walsh was expelled from the Fine Gael

parliamentary party A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliame ...

for voting against the party whip on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013. Healy Eames was expelled a week after Walsh for opposing the same bill in the Seanad. On 19 July, Naughton was appointed to the Seanad by

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 o ...

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 from ...

. Walsh was readmitted into the Fine Gael parliamentary party in 2014, but due to health reasons, he stood down before the general election. At the 2016 general election, Naughton was elected to the Dáil alongside her party colleague Seán Kyne. In October 2019, she was appointed to the chair of the Dáil committee investigating ethics complaints about members who voted on behalf of colleagues. She was later forced to resign after it came to light that she had done the same on several occasions. Voting on behalf of colleagues in the Dáil was not permitted. At the 2020 general election, Naughton was re-elected to the Dáil, as the sole Fine Gael TD in the five-seat constituency. In 2020, at 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 ...

, Naughton was appointed as one of three

Ministers 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. She was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Transport 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 and Eircodes. From 27 April to 1 November 2021, Naughton was assigned additional responsibilities as

Minister of State at the Department of Justice The Minister of State at the Department of Justice is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Justice of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Minister for Justice. A Minister of State does not hold ...

with responsibility for criminal justice during the

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...

of Minister for Justice

Helen McEntee Helen McEntee (born 8 June 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Justice from June 2020 to November 2022. From April to November 2021, she became a minister without portfolio during a period of maternity leave ...

. In December 2022, she was appointed as Government Chief Whip and

with special responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy following the appointment of Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach.

References

External links

Hildegarde Naughton's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naughton, Hildegarde 1977 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Irish schoolteachers Mayors of Galway Members of the 24th Seanad Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Politicians from County Galway Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fine Gael senators Local councillors in Galway (city) Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland 21st-century women members of Seanad Éireann Government Chief Whip (Ireland)