Seán Fleming (born 27 February 1958) is an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who has served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

constituency since 2024, and previously from 2016 to 2020. He represented the Laois–Offaly constituency from 2020 to 2024, and previously from 1997 to 2016. He served as

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Government of Ireland who may perform funct ...

from December 2022 to January 2025, and as

Minister of State at the Department of Finance The Minister of State at the Department of Finance is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Finance of the Government of Ireland. A Minister of State does not hold cabinet rank. The position was created on 1 January 1978, replacing the ...

from July 2020 to December 2022. He served as Chair of the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

from 2016 to 2020. Fleming is an accountant by profession. He was educated at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. Fleming was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

at the 1997 general election and retained his seat at the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

general elections. He was formerly Financial Director of Fianna Fáil at national level. He was elected at the 1999 local elections as a member of

Laois County Council Laois County Council () is the local authority of County Laois, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and de ...

for the

Borris-in-Ossory Borris-in-Ossory (, or the ' Burgage of Osraige') is a village in west County Laois, Ireland, close to the Tipperary border and the M7 motorway. Features The village has facilities such as a school, churches, community hall, convenience reta ...

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

. He served as Opposition Spokesperson for Public Expenditure and Reform from 2011 to 2016. He was previously the Chair of the

from 2016 to 2020. On 15 July 2020, he was appointed as

, with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance. Fleming received criticism from opposition parties in February 2022 when, amid a 20 year high in inflation, he suggested that people should stop complaining about their finances, stating " ther than just complaining and sking'What's the Government going to do for me?', you can actually have a serious impact on your own finance, but it involves people having to do some work themselves." He later apologised for his comments. In December 2022, he was appointed as

with special responsibility for International Development and Diaspora following the appointment of

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

as Taoiseach. He was not re-appointed as a minister of state in 2025.

References

External links

Seán Fleming's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Sean 1958 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Fianna Fáil TDs Members of Laois County Council Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Politicians from County Laois Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil People from Portlaoise Members of the 34th Dáil