Joe McHugh

Joe McHugh (born 16 July 1971) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician from Carrigart, County Donegal. A Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal North-East constituency from 2007 to 2016 and the Donegal constituency from 2016 to 2024, he served as Minister of State from 2014 to 2018, including as Government Chief Whip from 2017 to 2018. He served as Minister for Education and Skills from October 2018 until June 2020. He chaired the Committee on European Union Affairs from 2020 to 2024.

McHugh graduated from Maynooth University, receiving a degree in economics and sociology in 1992 and a higher diploma in education in 1993. After working as a secondary school teacher in Letterkenny and Dubai, he became a youth worker in Letterkenny. He began his political career after winning a seat on Donegal County Council in the 1999 local elections; he was subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann in 2002 as a senator for the Administrative Panel. In July 2005, he married Olwyn Enright, then a Fine Gael TD for Laois–Offaly. McHugh won a seat in Dáil Éireann at the 2007 general election, while Enright retained her seat, making them the third married couple to serve in the same Dáil.

In 2014, McHugh became Minister of State with responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources, although his appointment attracted criticism due to his basic knowledge of the Irish language. A 2015 RTÉ Radio 1 documentary, ''Fine Gaeilgeoir,'' followed his efforts to improve his language skills''.'' Appointed Minister for Education and Skills in October 2018 by then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, he oversaw the closure of schools and the cancellation of the 2020 Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the formation of a new government in June 2020, he was not reappointed to cabinet and declined an appointment as Minister of State.

In May 2022, McHugh announced that he would not stand at the next general election, saying he wished to spend more time with his family. In July 2022, he resigned the Fine Gael party whip to vote for an opposition bill on the defective block crisis; he continued as an independent TD until the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil in November 2024. Following McHugh's retirement from politics, Fine Gael ran two candidates in Donegal at the 2024 general election, but failed to have a candidate elected in the county for the first time since the 1930s. In 2025, McHugh published a book, ''Beidh Tú Alright: An Irish Language Journey'', detailing his efforts to master the Irish language as an adult.

Early life

Born in Carrigart, County Donegal, McHugh was educated at Umlagh National School and Loreto Community School, Milford. He attended Maynooth University, where he received an honours degree in economics and sociology in 1992 and a higher diploma in education in 1993. He taught geography and mathematics at Loreto Secondary School, Letterkenny, from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 1996, he taught A-level economics in Dubai. In 1996, he returned to Ireland and became a youth worker in the Ballyboe area of Letterkenny.

Political career

Donegal County Council

McHugh won a seat in the Milford local electoral area in the 1999 Donegal County Council election.

Seanad Éireann

Elected to Seanad Éireann as a Senator for the Administrative Panel in 2002, McHugh served as Fine Gael spokesperson on Community, Rural, Gaeltacht and Marine Affairs. When he was selected as the Dáil candidate for Donegal North-East, he moved into a new constituency office in Letterkenny, which was officially opened by Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny on 6 October 2006.

Dáil Éireann

At the 2007 general election, McHugh topped the poll in Donegal North-East with 22.6% of the first preference vote. His wife Olwyn Enright also won re-election to the Dáil, making them the third married couple to sit in the same Dáil. In October 2007, McHugh was appointed party deputy spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and the Department of the Taoiseach, with special responsibility for North-South Co-operation.

In 2009, McHugh and Enright were criticised in the media for double-claiming overnight accommodation expenses while on official business in the Dáil, despite sharing accommodation as a married couple. Over the three years following their July 2005 marriage, McHugh was reported to have claimed €58,800 in overnight accommodation expenses, while Enright had separately claimed €61,600. Both TDs defended their expense claims as fully compliant with Oireachtas guidelines and procedures. Alleging that they were being subjected to a "disproportionate level of scrutiny of heirpersonal circumstances" as the only married couple in the Dáil, McHugh stated that he had ceased claiming an overnight accommodation allowance in July 2008, due to the country's economic downturn. In 2010, McHugh and Enright were each reported to be claiming 50 percent of the overnight accommodation allowance available to a TD.

In January 2011, McHugh called for the government to mark the centenary of the founding of the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1912 by erecting a monument in Donegal. Eileen Doherty—a sister of Donegal County Councillor and Provisional IRA member Eddie Fullerton, who was assassinated by loyalists in 1991—criticised McHugh, claiming that he and Fine Gael councillors in Donegal had opposed building a monument in Fullerton's memory. McHugh was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2011 general election, attaining 19.3% of the first-preference vote. Enright did not stand for re-election in 2011, having announced her decision to retire from politics while pregnant with the couple's second child. In Manchester in October 2011, McHugh became the first Fine Gael TD to address delegates from the British Conservative Party. He described it as an "opportunity."

On 15 July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht with responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources. His appointment attracted criticism due to his basic knowledge of the Irish language, although he was subsequently praised for his efforts to improve his language skills to the point where he could conduct lengthy interviews in Irish. RTÉ Radio 1 produced a radio documentary, ''Fine Gaeilgeoir,'' narrated and produced by Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh, following his efforts to improve his Irish over the course of a year. In 2025, he published a book, ''Beidh Tú Alright: An Irish Language Journey'', detailing the backlash he received upon his appointment and his efforts to master the Irish language as an adult.

In February 2016, McHugh was heavily criticised for allocating 93% of Gaeltacht grants to the Donegal Gaeltacht, which is located in and beside his constituency. This revelation led to calls for McHugh to appear before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee to explain such a disproportionate allocation of funding. McHugh subsequently denied the claims.

At the 2016 general election, McHugh was elected to the new five-seater Donegal constituency on the 11th count. The following May, he met Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during their day visit to the county.

He was appointed as Minister for Education and Skills on 16 October 2018. As minister, he oversaw the closure of schools and the cancellation of the 2020 Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate examinations due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although he was re-elected in the 2020 general election, he was not re-appointed to the Government of the 33rd Dáil in June 2020 and declined the offer of appointment as a Minister of State. In September 2020, he became Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs.

In May 2022, McHugh announced that he would not contest the next general election, saying he wished to spend more time with his family. On 6 July 2022, he resigned the Fine Gael party whip in order to vote for an opposition bill regarding the defective block crisis. Following McHugh's retirement from politics at the 2024 general election, Fine Gael ran two candidates in the Donegal constituency—Senator Nikki Bradley and John McNulty—but neither won election, marking the first time since the 1930s that Fine Gael did not win a seat in Donegal.

Personal life

In July 2005, McHugh married Olwyn Enright, who served as a Fine Gael TD for Laois–Offaly from 2002 to 2011. They have three children.

See also

* Families in the Oireachtas

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Joe
1971 births
Living people
Administrative Panel senators
Alumni of Maynooth University
Fine Gael local councillors
Fine Gael senators
Fine Gael TDs
Gaelic games players from County Donegal
Government Chief Whip (Ireland)
Independent TDs
Irish schoolteachers
Members of Donegal County Council
Members of the 22nd Seanad
Members of the 30th Dáil
Members of the 31st Dáil
Members of the 32nd Dáil
Members of the 33rd Dáil
Ministers for education of Ireland
Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil
Ministers of State of the 32nd Dáil
Politicians from County Donegal
Spouses of Irish politicians