Neale RICHMOND

Bio

Neale Richmond was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance on 10 April 2024. He previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail, and the Department of Social Protection, since 13 January 2023. Much of his work at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was with businesses, workers, their representative bodies and the state agencies to ensure that the economic recovery and growth extends to all parts of the country. He worked closely with the SME sector, including retail, on building resilience and on the transition to the green and digital economies. Before this, he was elected as a TD for Dublin Rathdown in the 2020 General Election. In April 2016 he was elected to Seanad Éireann, on the Labour Panel, where he was the Fine Gael Spokesperson on European Affairs and chair of the Seanad Special Select Committee on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. Neale served for seven years on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council where he was first elected in 2009, and then re-elected in 2014. Neale served for two years as a member of the EU’s Committee of the Regions, leading the Irish delegation, acting as Rapporteur on the Opinion on a more responsible trade and investment policy. Neale holds a BA in History and an MA in politics from UCD. He lives in Dublin, with his wife and their two children.