Fine Gael’s Emer Higgins (38), from Rathcoole, was Minister of State for business, employment and retail in the outgoing Dáil.

She had been a member of South Dublin County Council since being co-opted in 2011 and retained her seat in the 2014 and 2019 local elections.

She lost out on a Dáil seat in the 2019 byelection caused by the departure of party colleague Frances Fitzgerald to the European Parliament. Sinn Féin’s Mark Ward was victorious in that race.

Ms Higgin was elected in Dublin Mid-West in the 2020 general election on the ninth and final count.

She was first involved in politics in University College Dublin, where she was a member of the students’ union. She worked for Frances Fitzgerald and ran her 2011 general election campaign.