Political Career
Roche worked as a public servant at the Departments of Posts and Telegraphs, Transport and Power, Finance and at the Department of Economic Planning and Development. In 1978 he was appointed lecturer in Public Administration and Public Finance at UCD. In 1978 Roche became the first Irish Citizen to be awarded a United Nations Human Rights fellowship. He subsequently became a member of the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace and served as a time as Chairman of the Commission.
Roche began his political career in 1985 when he was elected to Wicklow County Council. Two years later, at the 1987 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Wicklow constituency.
Roche lost his seat at the 1992 general election but was elected to Seanad Éireann. In the Irish Senate Roche introduced a Freedom of Information Bill based closely on the Norwegian Freedom of Information legislation. He was returned to the 28th Dáil at the 1997 general election and remained a TD until 2011.
Following the 2002 general election Roche was appointed Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for European Affairs. In his role, effectively as Minister for Europe, he played a large role during Ireland's Presidency of the European Council in 2004. In 2004 Roche was conferred with the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana by the Government of Estonia for his support of Estonia's accession to the European Union. In 2004 he became Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. He retained his seat at the 2007 general election but, on the formation of the new government, was the only member of the previous Cabinet to be demoted, being re-appointed to his Minister of State for European Affairs role.
His last act as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was the signing of an order that was to lead to work being resumed on the controversial M3 motorway near the Hill of Tara. He remained Minister of State for European Affairs, during which Ireland conducted two referendums on the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union.
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