I am passionate about building resilience in all aspects of our world, and I believe that can only be done by working closely with nature and its processes.
Our natural resources are finite, and it is our responsibility to manage them wisely, and to restore and regenerate them, while supporting a healthy and vibrant society and economy.
I’ve a Degree in Agriculture from the UK, a postgraduate diploma from UCD and a PhD from the University of Limerick.
With my husband Mark, I farm in Geashill, County Offaly. We farm a 200ac Organic farm, and produce beef from our suckler cows, and lamb from our sheep. We also have a bloodstock enterprise. We have four children (aged 22 to 14).
My journey into politics started in 2016 when I joined the Green Party. As a mother of young children, I was becoming concerned about the future and the impact that human activity was having on our natural resources. The party’s ethos and principles aligned closely to my own. I was elected to Offaly County Council in 2019 and to Seanad Éireann in 2020.
I was involved in the Government Formation talks in 2020, and in June of that year was appointed as Minister of State with Responsibility fort Biodiversity and Land Use in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I was also a member of cabinet for my term of office which lasted until January 2025.
