Election 2020: Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)
Dublin Central – Elected on the ninth count
Paschal Donohoe: As a party grandee he will have to address the electorate’s rejection of Fine Gael’s spending priorities and policies. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill / The Irish Times
The only consolation for Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe (45) is that Dublin Central is back to a four-seat constituency after his battle to hold on in 2016 when it was a three-seater.
This time around there were no guarantees with the lurch of support away from Fine Gael and towards Sinn Féin. Now, however, the battle for Fine Gael is much bigger after an angry electorate vented its spleen in the ballot box. And as a party grandee he will have a central role and will have to address the electorate’s rejection of Fine Gael’s spending priorities and policies and a possible leadership contest.
Never one to display too much emotion, he proved sensitive to budgetary criticism by the Fiscal Advisory Council, but said his single regret was not managing to control the costs of the new national children’s hospital.
An assured and calm performer, he is one of the party’s intellectuals. Widely read, he regularly recommends books to others. He is a Star Wars fan and his office window is lined with figurines from the science fiction series of films.
He served first as a minister of state and then as minister for transport. A graduate in politics and economics, he previously worked as a sales manager with a multinational company. He is married with two children and lives in Phibsborough.
