Damien English T.D.

Minister for Business, Employment and Retail.

Damien was elected as a Teachta Dáil for Meath West in the general election of February 2020.  He secured election at his first attempt to Dáil Éireann in 2002, and at each successive election in 2007, 2011 and 2016. He served as a member of Meath County Council from 1999 to 2004.

Damien is the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, having been appointed on July 2^nd, 2020.  He previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government from May 2016 to June 2020.  He was first appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Education and Skills in July 2014.

Minister English’s focus in government is on forward-thinking and deliverable initiatives, such as his work on ‘Rebuilding Ireland – Action Plan for Housing’; the expansion of the apprenticeship system in Ireland; Project Ireland 2040; ‘Innovation 2020’ – Ireland’s current strategy for research and development, science and technology; ‘Housing Options for our Ageing Population’ which provides a policy framework to support our ageing population; and the ‘National Skills Strategy 2025 – Ireland’s Future’.