2011 presidential election. She later claimed it was a "misunderstanding". At the 2011 general election, Naughton was one of four Fine Gael candidates for the five seats in Galway West; Seán Kyne and Brian Walsh were elected, while Naughton and Fidelma Healy Eames were unsuccessful. In July 2013, Walsh was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party for voting against the party whip on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013. Healy Eames was expelled a week after Walsh for opposing the same bill in the Seanad. On 19 July, Naughton was appointed to the Seanad by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Walsh was readmitted into the Fine Gael parliamentary party in 2014, but due to health reasons, he stood down before the general election. At the 2016 general election, Naughton was elected to the Dáil alongside her party colleague Seán Kyne. In October 2019, she was appointed to the chair of the Dáil committee investigating ethics complaints about members who voted on behalf of colleagues. She was later forced to resign after it came to light that she had done the same on several occasions. Voting on behalf of colleagues in the Dáil was not permitted. At the 2020 general election, Naughton was re-elected to the Dáil, as the sole Fine Gael TD in the five-seat constituency. In 2020, at the formation of the 32nd Government of Ireland, Naughton was appointed as one of three Ministers of State attending cabinet. She was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics and Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for Postal Policy and Eircodes. From 27 April to 1 November 2021, Naughton was assigned additional responsibilities as Minister of State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for criminal justice during the maternity leave of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. In December 2022, she was appointed as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy following the appointment of Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach. References External links Hildegarde Naughton's page on the Fine Gael website 1977 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Irish schoolteachers Mayors of Galway Members of the 24th Seanad Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála