Joe McHugh

Infobox Politician
name =Joe McHugh
honorific-suffix = TD
nationality =Irish


imagesize =150px
office =Teachta Dála for Donegal North East
term_start =25 May 2007
term_end =
vicepresident =
predecessor =
successor =
birth_date =Birth date and age|1971|7|16|df=y
birth_place =Carrigart, Co. Donegal
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =Donegal North East
party =Fine Gael
spouse =Olwyn Enright, TD
religion =
order2 =
term_start2 =
term_end2 =
president =
predecessor2 =
successor2 =|

Joe McHugh (born 16 July 1971) is an Irish Fine Gael Party politician. Elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2007 general election, he is currently a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal North East constituency. In 2002, he was elected on the Administrative Panel to the 22nd Seanad Éireann, where he served as spokesperson on Community, Rural, Gaeltacht and Marine Affairs.

Background

Born in Carrigart, County Donegal, McHugh was educated at Umlagh National School and the Loreto Convent, Milford. He attended the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, where he received an honours degree in economics and sociology, and a higher diploma in education.

A keen sportsman, McHugh has been a member of the Carrigart Boxing Club, has played soccer in the Donegal League with Cranford F.C. and Bonagee United F.C., and has also been a Gaelic footballer.

McHugh taught geography and mathematics at the Loreto Convent in Letterkenny from 1993 until 1995. From 1995–1996 he taught A-level economics in Dubai, during which time he helped establish the first GAA club in the United Arab Emirates. In 1996, he returned to Ireland and became a youth worker in the Ballyboe area of Letterkenny.

In July 2005, McHugh married Laois-Offaly Deputy Olwyn Enright. Both McHugh and Enright were elected to Dáil Éireann in May 2007, becoming only the second married couple to be elected to sit in the same Dáil. [Michael O'Higgins and his wife Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins both served in the 16th, 17th and 18th Dála.]

Political career

Donegal County Council

Selected by Fine Gael to run for a Donegal County Council seat in the Milford Electoral area, McHugh was elected on 11 June, 1999. In 2001, he introduced a motion to establish a youth council for the county, which led to the formation of the Donegal Youth Council, the first democratically elected youth forum in Ireland. He has also worked closely with Young Fine Gael, helping to establish the first branch in the county in March 2004. While a member of the council, he was appointed Chairman of the cross-border body ERNACT, where he made the provision of broadband in border areas a priority.

eanad Éireann

Elected to Seanad Éireann in 2002, McHugh set up a full-time constituency office in Letterkenny. When Fine Gael chose him as its Donegal North East candidate for the Dáil, he moved into new premises, which were officially opened by Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny on 6 October 2006. Deputy Kenny stated that the offices were "the biggest office of any Fine Gael deputy or senator around the country."

Dáil Éireann

After a surprise poll-topping victory in Donegal North East, where he captured 8,711 first-preference votes, almost 2,000 more than his nearest rival, McHugh was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2007 general election. The constituency's first Fine Gael TD since 1997, McHugh serves Donegal North East alongside Fianna Fáil deputies Jim McDaid and Niall Blaney.He was appointed Deputy Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and with Special Responsibility for North-South Co-operation in October 2007. [http://joemchugh.finegael.ie/Representatives/common/index.cfm?CFID=2013920&CFTOKEN=a0b94ea403d926d-B0059DAF-CB68-4D4C-3F5CF41FF4B0EF0F]

Since being elected to the Dáil, Deputy McHugh has been vocal on local transport issues, in particular re-establishing a rail link in Donegal. He has been critical of the removal of services from Letterkenny General Hospital and has highlighted the the difficulties being faced by the fishing industry. [http://donegalmatters.com/article_info.php?products_id=410&osCsid=55291109aa5b8940ed6b3f4314ad054f]

ee also

*Families in the Oireachtas

Fotnotes

External links

* [http://www.donegalmatters.com/ Donegal Matters: Joe McHugh's community website for Donegal]
* [http://joemchugh.finegael.ie/ Fine Gael's Website for Senator Joe McHugh]
* [http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=4880 Joe McHugh's electoral history (electionsireland.org)]

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