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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.
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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.
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