A community pharmacist for 35 years, Independent candidate Gillian Toole has been elected to the Dáil for the first time.

She topped the poll for the Rathoath area in June’s local election, having represented the area since 2014 - first as a Fine Gael politician and then as an independent.

Ms Toole’s Leinster House campaign was supported by Independent senator Sharon Keoghan, who said there was a big independent vote in the area. Her election is the first time the constituency has held an independent seat.

Advertising herself as being “honest, persistent, fair”, there were a number of local issues she campaigned on, including infrastructure in Meath, the noise of the airport and community engagement around the locating of asylum seekers.

More nationally, she has a particular focus on health, calling for expanded access to diagnostics, screening, x-rays and other vital health services; as well as the implementation of tax incentives to assist the recruitment and retention challenge within the health service.