Teachta Dála member of the Meath County Council
What position did Regina Doherty take from Mar 2011 to Feb 2016?
Regina Doherty Regina Doherty ( ; born 26 January 1971 ) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Leader of Seanad Éireann and Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad since June 2020 . She has been a Senator since June 2020 , after being nominated by the Taoiseach . She previously served as Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection from 2017 to 2020 and Government Chief Whip from 2016 to 2017 . She was a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Meath East constituency from 2011 to 2020 . Political career . Doherty was a member of the Meath County Council for the Dunshaughlin local electoral area from 2009 to 2011 . She was a member of the Oireachtas committees for Health , Finance and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement during the 31st Dáil . She was also a member of the Constitutional Convention , and was the Chairperson of the Fine Gael committee for health and children . In May 2015 , following the claims of IRA involvement of the cover-up of sexual abuse by Máiría Cahill , she was provided with names of a number of alleged abusers which she passed on to the Gardaí who are investigating the issue . She was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2016 general election . She was appointed to the new Dáil reform committee on 22 March 2016 . Following the formation of a Fine Gael minority government in May 2016 , Doherty was appointed as Government Chief Whip in attendance at cabinet . In July 2017 , Doherty confirmed that she had lodged a complaint with the Garda Síochána against political blogger and academic Catherine Kelly . Kelly said that she was cautioned by Gardaí about her social media posts and online articles , which referenced Regina Doherty . In the Dáil , it was stated that a U.S.-based academic experienced a sinister and chilling experience in an Irish airport where she was detained by gardaí and told not to tweet about Doherty or publish any material relevant to her again . On 14 June 2017 , she was appointed Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection , by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar . In September 2017 , it was revealed that she was going to repay an unlawful allowance of €15,800 that she received as Government Chief Whip in direct contravention of the law which states that no allowance can be paid to a party whip if the person is a Minister or Minister of State . In January 2018 , Doherty announced the launch of the consultation process under the review of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 , to further expanding the Gender Recognition Act to include those under 18 and non-binary people . In May 2018 , Doherty participated in the Opening Plenary Session - Listening Today for Better Social Policies Tomorrow , in the OECD Policy forum in Canada . In January 2019 , Doherty briefed the Irish Cabinet , warning that while her department was well fixed to pass emergency legislation to continue social welfare payments in the event of Brexit , the UK may not be . It is understood that the British Government has agreed in principle to continue all payments , although the then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions , Amber Rudd , has been unable to guarantee that the necessary legislation will be passed by 29 March 2019 . Also in January 2019 , Doherty was appointed director of elections for Fine Gael for the 2019 European elections. COVID-19 response . Doherty was appointed to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on COVID-19 , it published a National Action Plan on 16 March . On 16 March 2020 , Doherty announced the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €350.00 , which would be available for six weeks . On 19 March 2020 , Doherty announced that all welfare would be distributed each fortnight instead of the traditional weekly , so as to limit the number of people gathering in post offices . On 17 April , she announced that the General Register Office has put arrangements in place for parents to send in their birth registration forms by email or post . Up to then , parents could only register the births of their children by visiting a General Register Office in person , a practice in place since 1864 , when the first birth was registered . Seanad Éireann . In June 2020 , she was nominated by the Taoiseach Micheál Martin , and also appointed Leader of the Seanad . Move to Dublin Fingal . In September 2020 , it was announced that Doherty would seek Fine Gaels nomination to contest the next general election in the Dublin Fingal constituency . According to Doherty , she has connections to the area , with family in North County Dublin and having bought her first home in Swords , Dublin . Business . In January 2013 , her IT consultancy company went into liquidation with debts of €280,000 , including €60,000 due to the Revenue Commissioners . External links . - Regina Dohertys page on the Fine Gael website