Phil Hogan was born in Tullaroan, in rural Kilkenny, in 1960. The eldest of four children, he qualified as a teacher, and has worked as an auctioneer. He was elected to Kilkenny County Council in 1982, aged only 22. He first stood for election to the Dail in 1987. He failed then, but was elected two years later, still in his twenties, and has held a seat in Carlow/Kilkenny for the past 25 years. In 1994 he was appointed Minister for State at the Department of Justice, resigning prior to a leak from his office prior to the 1995 budget.

He was appointed chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary party soon after, and his influence grew, particularly since Enda Kenny became Fine Gael leader in 2002.

He is seen as Kenny’s key political ally; “Big Phil”, the party enforcer. When Kenny’s leadership was challenged in 2010, Hogan ran an aggressive campaign that proved successful. Within a year they were in Government.

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He was appointed Minister of the Environment in 2011, when Fine Gael formed a coalition with Labour, having been one of the key negotiators.

He has overseen some of the most unpopular measures introduced, including water charges, registration of properties and septic tanks, and the property tax. He has also instituted the most radical reform of local government in a lifetime, abolishing town councils and realigning seat numbers in local authority areas according to population levels.

He was married but is separated with one adult son.