A relatively new member of the Dáil, Mr John McGuinness (47) first contested a general election in 1997 and promptly won a third seat for Fianna Fáil in Carlow-Kilkenny.
He combines his work as a TD with that as managing director of a Kilkenny-based transport company, Fastmac Express Delivery Service.
He has been a member of Kilkenny Corporation since 1979 and in 1996 became the third generation of his family to serve as mayor of the borough.
He has also been a member of Kilkenny County Council since 1991 and has served on various local industry and tourism bodies, including the Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and the Kilkenny Third-Level Education Committee.
Mr McGuinness, who is married with four children, was considered by some to be an outside bet for a junior ministerial post after the last election. However, he has suffered in this regard from sharing a constituency with experienced Minister of State Mr Liam Aylward.
Mr McGuinness gained 9,343 first preference votes in the election, 3,000 short of poll-topping Mr Aylward, who was subsequently appointed Minister of State for Agriculture. Mr M.J. Nolan holds the other Fianna Fáil seat in the constituency.