Elected first as a Louth county councillor in 1991, he has been a member of the council since and ran once unsuccessfully for national office in 2011. He served as chairperson on the council on two occasions and is involved with a number of committees, including the Louth Economic and Future Planning SPC.

I've been in politics for many years and I appreciate that politics is about people. I plan to be a strong representative for the people of Louth.

Create jobs. Without jobs and the new tax the state will collect we're going to have bad public services. Invest taxes in public services.

I will ask for a meeting with new Jobs Minister for all five TDs from Louth. Cross-party strategy needed to bring economic recovery to Louth.