Teachta Dála Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight
What was the position of Josepha Madigan before Mar 2017?
Josepha Madigan Josepha Madigan ( born 21 May 1970 ) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion since July 2020 . She has been a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency since 2016 . She previously served as Minister for Culture , Heritage and the Gaeltacht from November 2017 to June 2020 and Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight from July 2017 to November 2017 . Early and personal life . Madigan was born in Dublin in 1969 . She attended Mount Anville Secondary School and Trinity College Dublin . She is married to Finbarr Hayes , and they have two children . Her father , Patrick Madigan , was a Fianna Fáil County Councillor in Dublin , her mother , Patricia Madigan , was a barrister who had a background in Fine Gael . She and her family live in Mount Merrion . Legal career . Madigan is a qualified solicitor , who practised in family law for twenty years , prior to her election to Dáil Éireann . She is also certified as a mediator by the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland and is a previous Council member of the MII . She is a former Specialist Liaison Officer for Family Mediation in the MII . Madigan is the author of the first book in Ireland on mediation : Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Ireland , a handbook for family lawyers and their clients ( Jordan Publishing , 2012 ) . She has also self-published a novel called Negligent Behaviour . Political career . County Councillor ( 2014–2016 ) . Madigan served as a Councillor for the Stillorgan Ward on Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council , from May 2014 until her election as a TD in 2016 . Madigan issued a leaflet in 2014 claimed that providing accommodation for Travellers in her constituency would be a waste of valuable resources . When asked about this later , Madigan claimed Some people wont want to live beside people in halting sites [ ... ] there might be more crime , that there might be anti-social behaviour . Dáil Éireann . Madigan was elected to Dáil Éireann following the 2016 general election as a Fine Gael TD for the Dublin Rathdown constituency , beating sitting Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter by nearly 1,000 votes . She was appointed Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight in July 2017 . Madigan was three weeks a TD , when she was asked to participate in the 2016 government formation talks . Prior to becoming a minister , she was an active member of the Public Accounts Committee . She also brought forward a private members bill to reduce the waiting time for divorce in Ireland from four years to two , which was passed by the Dáil . On 30 November 2017 , Madigan was appointed to the cabinet as Minister for Culture , Heritage and the Gaeltacht , in a reshuffle following the resignation of the Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald . On 29 March 2018 , Taoiseach Leo Varadkar appointed Madigan as the coordinator for the Fine Gael Yes campaign in the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment . She was re-elected in February 2020 , taking the third seat behind Green Party Deputy Leader Catherine Martin and party colleague Neale Richmond . On 1 July 2020 , Madigan was appointed Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion by Taoiseach Micheál Martin . On 14 January 2021 , Madigan came under fire for describing children without additional needs as ‘normal’ while speaking in the Dáil.We all know that even for normal children remote teaching is difficult but for children who have additional needs it is particularly difficult , she said . Later that day on Twitter , the minister said she sincerely apologises for the language she used . “It is absolutely not what I meant to say.” On 20 January 2021 , speaking on RTÉs Today with Claire Byrne , Madigan compared children with additional needs not attending school to the mother and baby homes.Weve spent the last week talking about mother and baby homes , where our most vulnerable were left to their own devices in less than satisfactory conditions and were now allowing further anxiety and upset to be placed on the shoulders of parents whose children desperately need to go back to school.The Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Related Matters was published the week prior to Madigans comments . Madigan later apologised in a statement . I am , as are all involved in supporting these children [ children with additional needs ] , passionate about vindicating their rights and in reaching for an analogy I chose poorly . I apologise fully . Maria Bailey legal claim . In 2019 , Madigan received widespread coverage for her role in the personal injury legal claim of Fine Gael politician , Maria Bailey . It was alleged that Madigans law practice , Madigan Solicitors , advised Bailey on her claim , however , Madigan refused to make any comments on this citing client-solicitor confidentiality . In July 2019 , an internal unpublished Fine Gael probe into the affair cleared Madigan of any wrongdoing in regard to the claim . In late July 2019 , the Irish Independent reported that it is now known that she advised Ms Bailey in the early stages of the claim . It was also reported that Madigans firm would earn Euro 11,500 in fees if the Maria Baily case had been successful . External links . - Josepha Madigans page on the Finel Gael website