Profile: Bernard Durkan (FG)

Bernard Durkan (70) of Fine Gael was first elected to represent Kildare in the Dáil in 1981 and, while he lost his seat in the election of February 1982, he regained it that November and has held on to it since. From Swinford, Co Mayo, he now lives in Maynooth, Co Kildare with his wife, Hilary Spence. They have two sons. Formerly an agricultural contractor, he became a councillor on Kildare County Council in 1976. He was minister of state for social welfare from 1994-1997 and has served as Fine Gael chief whip. He has also been on the Public Accounts Committee and the Eastern Health Board. Most recently, he was vice chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade and a member of the Joint Committee on European Affairs.