8th international EFJCA Conference | 30 November & 1 December 2026 | Portlaoise (Ireland)

Bio Jim O’Callaghan

Jim O’Callaghan was appointed Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in January 2025. He joined Fianna Fáil in 2003, and his first successful foray into electoral politics came in 2009, when he was elected to Dublin City Council to represent Pembroke-Rathmines.

O’Callaghan remained a member of Dublin City Council until his election to Dáil Éireann in 2016, when he regained a seat for Fianna Fáil in the Dublin Bay South (formerly Dublin South East) constituency. A barrister and senior counsel, he also served as legal adviser to Fianna Fáil from 2011-2016.

He was a member of the Fianna Fáil Team that negotiated the Confidence and Supply Agreement, facilitating the election of the first minority government since 1989. In May 2016, following his election to Dáil Éireann, he was appointed party front-bench spokesman on Justice and Equality by Fianna Fáil party leader Micheál Martin. He was re-elected in the Dublin Bay South constituency in 2020, and again in 2024.

Among the Bills he has introduced in the Dáil as a TD is the Parole Bill 2016. He drafted and secured cross-party support for the bill, which was passed by the Dáil and Seanad and became an Act in 2019. It comprehensively reformed the parole system, giving victims of crime and their families the right to be heard during the parole process.

The Oireachtas also passed the Minister’s proposals to expand the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau. More recently, he introduced the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill to allow women to defer maternity leave in cases of serious illness, and the Sale of Tickets (Amendment) Bill to ban the dynamic pricing of tickets for concerts and cultural events.

The Minister lives in Ranelagh with his wife and son. Minister O'Callaghan has a BCL degree from University College Dublin, a master's degree in law and an M.Phil. in criminology from the University of Cambridge, and a barrister-at-law degree from the King's Inns.

He qualified as a barrister in 1993, and was made a senior counsel in 2008. Mr O'Callaghan enjoyed a high-level rugby career, beginning at University College, Dublin. He continued to play the game while studying at Cambridge University, and later represented London Irish, Wanderers, Leinster and Connacht. He was also capped for Ireland at under-21 level.

Since his appointment, Minister O’Callaghan has prioritised getting more Gardaí on our streets, tackling the scourge of domestic violence and implementing a robust immigration system.