What's your earliest holiday memory?I remember when I was very young going to Sligo on holidays with my parents and sister – very glamorous! We went to Rosses Point, to the beach and around the general Sligo area. I recall going to see Batman in the cinema. I think it stands out because I was terrified.
What was your best holiday?I went to South America with my friend Deirdre last summer. We backpacked around Argentina and Brazil. It's really beautiful, and cheap compared to Europe, and the people were lovely. We went to Rio and Buenos Aires, to the Iguazu Falls, and stayed on a ranch in Uruguay. It was an incredible experience. We covered a lot in two and a half weeks.
And your worst?I went to a really nice hotel in Connemara last Christmas, but I got really, really sick and had to leave early. So it was a complete waste of time. It was awful but not the fault of the hotel.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?I was recently looking at the Intrepid Travel website. They have amazing holidays, in either a shoestring or a luxury version. Some are nearly 100 days long. I'd love to do one that goes around the Middle East, including Jordan and Syria. The organised tour also goes off the beaten track, so it sounds amazing.
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?Salman Rushdie would be really interesting. I'd like to have a long conversation with him.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?I really, really like the Dingle Peninsula, Ballyferriter and Dún Chaoin. If you get the weather it's very spectacular. There are lovely beaches, lots of great restaurants in Dingle, it's laid back and unbelievably scenic. The Blaskets are great, too. I'm one of two people in the country that really liked the book Peig.
Your recommended holiday reading?I generally tend to bring books on holidays that I wouldn't have time to read otherwise – historical tomes and thick, heavy-duty biographies that you need time to read every day. At the moment I'm reading Churchill's biography.
Where will you go to next?I suppose, like everybody, what might have been considered possible a year ago is less possible this year. I'm going to France for a wedding this summer, because a friend is getting married. Otherwise, there is every chance if the weather holds up that I will go for a week in Ireland, possibly to Kerry, west Galway or Mayo.
Lucinda Creighton is a TD for Dublin South East and Fine Gael spokeswoman on European affairs
In conversation with Genevieve Carbery