John Paul Phelan (Outgoing)
Fine Gael
Sitting TD John Paul Phelan entered local politics in 1999 and served two terms in the Seanad before topping the poll in Carlow/Kilkenny during the 2011 general election. The 37 year-old business graduate comes from a farming background and is a qualified barrister. In 2014 he was elected vice-president of Fine Gael. A former member of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Law and Defence, Deputy Phelan most recently sat on the Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, colloquially known as the Banking Inquiry. Mr Phelan lives in Ferrybank in South Kilkenny and is a life-long member of the GAA through his local club Tullogher-Rosbercon.