McHugh was first elected to the Dáil in 2007. He has been re-elected in every election since. He was elected to the Seanad in 2002 on the administrative panel. He is the current Minister for Education and Skills and previously served as the government Chief Whip. He was Minister of State for Gaeilge, Gaeltacht and the Islands until 2018. Prior to his career in politics, he was a secondary school teacher. He was first elected to Donegal County Council in 1999.

I have a track record of delivering for Donegal, improving lives, securing community investment, listening and making sure the right decisions are made.

Access. Donegal needs better transport and broadband connections to the rest of our island. The new A5 is part of the answer to that, cutting journey times to Dublin by about 30mins. The broadband plan is also an answer to that.

We have an ambitious plan for the north west, based on the importance of balanced regional development and it will build an ambitious future with city region status for Letterkenny, a technological university in Donegal and improved access to and from Donegal for the rest of the island.