Jan O’Sullivan is a Labour Party TD representing the Limerick City constituency.

A former pre-school and secondary school teacher, Jan became involved in politics in Limerick through Jim Kemmy and the Democratic Socialist Party which later merged with the Labour Party.

She was elected to Seanad Éireann following the 1992 General Election and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann in a by-election in 1998. Jan has since been returned to represent the constituency in the following three general elections.

In July 2014 she was honoured to be appointed Minister for Education and Skills.

She has had a lifelong interest in education having worked in the sector for a number of years and having served as Spokesperson on Education for the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007.

She believes that education is central to our idea of citizenship, our economic recovery and our social progress. Education has the capacity to transform our lives and our communities in a fundamental way.

As Minister for Education and Skills she has a duty to ensure that our policies and funding decisions support the continued growth and improvement of our education system and that all citizens, regardless of age, gender or social background have equal access to appropriate, quality education services.

She is also committed to ensuring that the skills element of her portfolio contributes to our economic recovery as we use every lever to ensure that people have the skills and confidence to return to work as job opportunities increase.

She has a challenging and exciting job and a clear vision of the role of education in modern Irish society over the coming years, however, she does not claim to have a monopoly of wisdom. She is also looking forward to working closely with each of the education partners during her tenure as Minister.