In the opening days of the general election campaign, Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett (52) was the first TD to call for an alternative government without either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael involvement.

It is a call he has made over the years as a left-wing TD in various parties, first elected in 2011 as a People Before Profit Alliance TD campaigning under a United Left Alliance banner. In 2016, he contested the election as part of the unified Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit grouping and this time as part of the Solidarity-People Before Profit grouping.

An outspoken critic of government policy, he has condemned its policies on housing, homelessness, health, banking, corporation tax and climate change.

Born in London, he is the son actress Sinéad Cusack and the late theatre director Vincent Dowling and was given up for adoption. He was adopted by Valerie and David Boyd Barrett at an early age, and grew up with them in Glenageary. He has a son and stepson.