John Paul Phelan (37) served as a member of the Oireachtas banking inquiry in the last Dáil. He grew up on a farm in Tullogher, Kilkenny, and first came to prominence when elected to the county council at the age of 20 while still a student at Waterford Institute of Technology. He was elected to the Seanad in 2002 and narrowly missed out on getting a Dáil seat in his first general election outing in 2007. He unsuccessfully contested the European elections in 2009 and eventually made it to the Dáil in 2011. He is a low-key but effective contributor to Dáil debates. Before his move to Europe as EU Commissioner, Phil Hogan dominated Fine Gael politics in the constituency. The way is now open for Phelan to raise his profile. He has no history of family involvement in politics but his brother, Séamus, was once president of Macra na Feirme. – MICHAEL O'REGAN