Career Before Politics
In 1969 he became an economist with the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) in Dublin. After Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, he moved to Brussels where he was part of the IFA's delegation. In this role he was influential in framing Ireland's contribution to the Common Agriculture Policy.
He moved on from this IFA position to become chief of staff to Ireland's EEC commissioner Dick Burke, a former Fine Gael politician.
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