Primary Job Title Minister of State at the Department of Finance Primary Organization 
Department of Finance Ireland
Location Dublin, Dublin, Ireland Regions European Union (EU), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Gender Male
Website www.simonharris.ie/ Facebook View on Facebook LinkedIn View on LinkedIn X (Twitter) View on X
Simon Harris is a TD for Wicklow and East Carlow, and Minister of State at the Departments of Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform and Taoiseach with Special Responsibility for the OPW, Public Procurement & International Banking (including IFSC).
Simon is a native of County Wicklow and has been involved in the community all his life.
Simon was elected in the February 2011 and is the youngest member of the current Dáil.
Simon first became involved in politics through his work as a disability advocate and is committed to providing a strong voice on issues relating to special needs and mental health. Before entering politics, Simon established the Wicklow Triple A Alliance, a charity to support children and families affected by Autism.
Prior to his appointment as a Minister, Simon has served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform, Secretary of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party and Co-Convenor of the Oireachtas Cross Party Group on Mental Health. Simon also sat on the Fine Gael Internal Party Committees on Health & Children and Education, Skills & Social Protection.
Prior to his election to Dáil Éireann, Simon was a member of both Wicklow County Council and Greystones Town Council, having been elected in the 2009 Local Elections with the highest percentage vote of any candidate in the country. He has also served his community as Chairperson of the County Wicklow Policing Committee, Chairperson of the Dublin-Mid Leinster Regional Health Forum, Board Member of Wicklow Tourism and Member of Wicklow Vocational Educational Committee.
In July 2014, Simon was appointed Minister of State in the Departments of Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform and the Department of the Taoiseach with Special Responsibility for OPW, Public Procurement & International Banking (including IFSC).
He has been busy in these new roles: developing a new strategy to grow the international financial services in Ireland and putting a plan in place to create 10,000 more jobs in the sector by 2020, working to improve access for SMEs to public procurement and creating new structures to help small and medium businesses engage in procurement; and in the OPW, prioritising a new national flood plan involving the identification of 300 areas in Ireland which need new flood mitigation scheme and also promoting the wonderful and rich heritage which the OPW manages on behalf of the people of Ireland.
