Michael McGrath

Michael McGrath (born 23 August 1976) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister for Finance since December 2022. He previously served as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform from 2020 to 2022. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork South-Central constituency since 2007. Early life McGrath was born in Cork in 1976. He studied commerce at University College Cork and later qualified as a chartered accountant. His parents are described as having been non-political. Political career He was a member of Passage West Town Council from 1999 to 2007, and a member of Cork County Council for the Carrigaline local electoral area from 2004 to 2007. McGrath was first elected to the Dáil in 2007, and subsequently, he co-opted his brother Séamus to his county council seat. Séamus would, reportedly, become McGrath's closest political confidant. McGrath was one of the few Fianna Fáil TDs to survive their disastrous performance in the 2011 general election. In the aftermath, McGrath became the Opposition Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Financial Sector Reform, but also held the role of Spokesperson for Finance following the death of Brian Lenihan in June 2011.