Dr. Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD is the Minister for European Affairs & Defence.

Appointed by the Taoiseach to this role in April 2024, Dr. Carroll MacNeill previously served as Minister of State in the Department for Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance.

Minister Carroll MacNeill was elected as a TD for the Dún Laoghaire constituency in the 2020 General Election. She served on a number of Oireachtas Committees including the Public Accounts Committee, the Justice Committee and the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. She was also a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.

Before entering elected politics, Minister Carroll MacNeill qualified as a Solicitor and Barrister.  She holds a PhD in public policy where her research interest was in political institutions and the judiciary.

Minister Carroll MacNeill has worked as a lawyer in the public service, both within the Oireachtas as Legal Adviser in the Office of the Leader of Fine Gael and within Government as Special Adviser in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in the Department of Justice and Equality & in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

 

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is the Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire and Minister of State with responsibility for EU Affairs & Defence.

  • • Barrister and former solicitor.

    • Author of a legal and political text book on Irish political and judicial institutions.

    • Senior advisor to various Government Departments.

    • Legal advisor to Enda Kenny, former Taoiseach of Ireland.

    • The 2012 Children’s Referendum.

    • The Children and Family Relationships Act.

    • The Land Development Agency.

    • The National Planning Framework 2040.

    • Vice Chair of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party

    • Fine Gael Spokesperson on Equality

    • Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for Credit Union, Financial Services & Insurance

  • • PhD in Public Policy and Political Science, UCD

    • Master of Arts – Politics, UCD

    • BA Honours in Economics & Political Science, TCD

    • Diploma in Employment Law