Emer Higgins (34) is from Rathcoole, Co Dublin, and has been a member of South Dublin County Council since she was co-opted in 2011. She retained her seat in the 2014 and 2019 local elections.
She was first involved in politics in University College Dublin, where she was a member of the students’ union.
She worked for Frances Fitzgerald, former Fine Gael TD in the Dublin Mid-West constituency and ran her 2011 general election campaign.
She faced criticism in 2014 after she issued a letter to residents in the Newcastle area expressing her “delight” that proposed Traveller housing would not go ahead.
She is chief of staff of global operations with Paypal and sits on the UCD governing body. She lives in Lucan where she shares a rented home with a friend.
