Michael McGrath (Irish politician)

Michael McGrath (born 23 August 1976) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Finance from December 2022 to June 2024. He served as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform from 2020 to 2022. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork South-Central constituency since 2007.

Early life
McGrath was born in Cork in 1976. He studied commerce at University College Cork and later qualified as a chartered accountant. His parents are described as having been non-political.

Political career
He was a member of Passage West Town Council from 1999 to 2007, and a member of Cork County Council for the Carrigaline local electoral area from 2004 to 2007. McGrath was first elected to the Dáil in 2007, and subsequently, he co-opted his brother Séamus to his county council seat. Séamus would, reportedly, become McGrath's closest political confidant.

McGrath was one of the few Fianna Fáil TDs to survive their disastrous performance in the 2011 general election. In the aftermath, McGrath became the Opposition Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Financial Sector Reform, but also held the role of Spokesperson for Finance following the death of Brian Lenihan in June 2011.

McGrath represented Fianna Fáil in the Oireachtas delegation that met the Bundestag's Budgetary and European Affairs committees, in Berlin in late January 2012. He represented Fianna Fáil in talks on government formation in 2016 and 2020.

At the 2020 general election, McGrath outpolled his party leader Micheál Martin, with whom he shares a constituency.

In June 2020, following the formation of a coalition government between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party, McGrath was appointed as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. McGrath became Minister for Finance on 17 December 2022 as part of a cabinet reshuffle when Leo Varadkar succeeded Micheál Martin as Taoiseach as agreed in the coalition deal between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party.

On 25 June 2024, he was named by the government as Ireland's nomination for European Commissioner. He was succeeded by Jack Chambers as Minister for Finance.

Political views and profile
McGrath has been described by the Phoenix magazine as being on the right wing of Fianna Fáil and as conservative, both socially and economically. McGrath opposed the removal of Article 40.3.3° from the Irish constitution (which prevented the Oireachtas from legislating for abortion) during the 2018 abortion referendum.

Following the referendum being passed, McGrath then voted in favour of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, legislation which provided for the introduction of abortion.

Fiscally, McGrath has opposed calls from within his own party to increase social welfare allowances and has been called a proponent of economic orthodoxy. A chartered accountant, McGrath has been described as "technocratic" and likened to a civil servant in his approach to politics. His grasp of economics, as well as his attention to detail, have been praised as his strong points.

Prior to his nomination as European Commissioner, many political commentators had suggested McGrath as a potential contender for the leadership of Fianna Fáil.

Personal life
McGrath is married to Sarah McGrath since 2004, they met while working as trainees at the same Accountancy firm. They have seven children, five boys and two girls, his family home is in Carrigaline, County Cork.